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.*
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
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
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
Pour the liquid mixture in with the flour mixture. Stir to combine, making sure there are no clumps of flour throughout the batter.
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.
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).