Vegan Hummingbird Cake

1. Preheat oven to 350°F/175°C. Spray three round 9" cake pans with vegetable spray. You can also place a piece of parchment paper at the bottom of the pans and spray the sides with vegetable oil.*
2. Place pecans on a baking pan and toast for 5 minutes, being careful not to burn them. Remove from the oven and allow to cool before chopping.
   1 ½ cups pecans
3. Add the vegetable oil, water and sugars in a medium mixing bowl and stir to combine. Then add applesauce, pineapple (with liquid), mashed bananas, vinegar, and vanilla. Stir together. Set aside.
   ⅔ cup vegetable oil, 1 cup water, ⅔ cup brown sugar, ⅔ cup granulated sugar, 8 oz can crushed pineapple, 2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar, 1 tablespoon vanilla
4. Combine in a large mixing bowl the flour, salt, baking powder/soda, and spices. Stir to combine. Reserve 1/2 cup of the chopped pecans. Stir the remaining pecans into the flour mixture.
   3 cups all-purpose flour, 1 teaspoon salt, 1 ½ teaspoon baking powder, 1 teaspoon baking soda, 1 ½ teaspoons ground cinnamon, ½ teaspoon ground allspice, 1 ½ cups pecans
   
5. Pour the liquid mixture in with the flour mixture. Stir to combine, making sure there are no clumps of flour throughout the batter.
   
6. Pour equal amounts of batter into the prepared pans. Bake for 27 minutes to 30 minutes until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean.
7. Allow the cake to cool for about 10 minutes before inverting onto baking racks. Allow the cakes to cool completely. Then use a serrated knife to shave off any domes from the top of the cakes (to make flat layers).

For the Vegan Cream Cheese Frosting:

1. In the meantime, prepare the frosting by whipping vegan butter using the whip attachment for up to 2 minutes, until light and fluffy. Add vegan cream cheese and whip on low for about 30 seconds, to combine.
   1 cup vegan butter, 4 tablespoons vegan cream cheese
   
2. While beating on low speed, pour in the corn syrup a little at a time. Continue until all the corn syrup is added, then whip on high speed for about a minute.
   ⅔ cup light corn syrup
3. Add the powdered sugar ½ cup at a time, beating in between each addition. Then add the vanilla and salt and beat until you get a spreadable consistency. Note: This frosting should be a perfect spreadable consistency. If it's too thick, mix in up to 3 tablespoons of plant-based creamer.
   1 cup powdered sugar, 1 teaspoon vanilla extract, ⅙ teaspoon salt
4. Ice the top of one of the cooled cakes. Top with a layer of frosting, spread evenly across the top. Place the second cake on top and add frosting, spreading it evenly across the top. Add the third cake. Cover the top cake and sides with remaining frosting. Garnish with reserved chopped pecans.
5. Storage: Store this moist cake in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 3 days, or in the refrigerator for up to a week. Freezing Tips: Wrap individual slices tightly in plastic wrap and freeze for up to 3 months. Thaw in the fridge before serving.