Preheat the oven to 350° and grease a 9x13 casserole baking pan.
Combine flour, both sugars, baking soda, pecans, and cinnamon on a large mixing bowl.
In a separate bowl, mash the bananas very well but do not blend them. Whisk in oil, eggs, vanilla extract, crushed pineapple into the bananas. Whisk until all combined.
Combine the wet ingredients and the dry ingredients. Whisk until smoothly combined and all ingredients are incorporated.
Pour cake batter into the prepared baking pan and spread it evenly.
Bake for 40-45 minutes. (Make sure to start checking on the cake after 35-40 minutes to see if it's done. Different types of baking pans, like glass, metal, and ceramic, will affect the bake time slightly.)Do a toothpick test in the center of the cake to see if it's done, or do a touch test. (Most cakes are also done when internal temperature reaches 200° to 210°, with most cakes needing to get to 210°.)
Let the cake cool for about 10 minutes. Poke holes all over the cake (use something that is about a pencil thickness).
Topping:
In a mixing bowl, whisk sweetened condensed milk, pineapple, cinnamon, and whipped cream (if using) together.
Evenly, pour sweet sauce mixture all over the cake. Let it seep in and cool completely before frosting.
Frosting:
Beat butter and cream cheese together, on medium-high speed, until smooth, 1-2 minutes. Scrape sides and bottom of the bowl.
Lower the speed to low and beat-in powdered sugar, cinnamon, and vanilla extract.
Turn the speed back up to medium-high and beat for about 3-4 minutes, until the frosting is light, smooth and fluffy.
Once the cake is cooled, evenly frost the cake all over.
Optional: spread more chopped pecans all over the top of the frosted cake.
Serve the cake right away or cover and keep the cake refrigerated until ready to serve.
Storing:
You can store the cake in the same pan where you baked it. Make sure to cover the cake air-tight with plastic wrap or a cake pan lid and refrigerate. Keep the cake refrigerated and consume within 3-4 days.
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Notes
Feel free to use different nuts like walnuts or almonds is you don't wish yo use pecans. If you need to, you CAN omit the nuts altogether.
When baking the cake, make sure to start checking on the cake after 35-40 minutes to see if it's done. Different types of baking pans, like glass, metal, and ceramic, will affect the bake time slightly.
To check if the cake is done, do a toothpick test in the center of the cake to see if it’s done. To do the toothpick test: insert the toothpick in the center of the cake, if the toothpick comes out clean, the cake it cooked though.
Most cakes are also done when internal temperature reaches 200° to 210°, with most cakes needing to get to 210°.
Make sure to use a CLEAN utensil to poke holes in the cake.
Cool the cake completely before frosting it!
This cake is amazing at room temperature, so you can serve it right after frosting or let it warm up on the counter after being refrigerated.