What Southern cake is made with bananas, crushed pineapple, and pecans?

The Southern cake made with bananas, crushed pineapple, and pecans is hummingbird cake. It is a moist banana-pineapple spice cake, commonly finished with sweet cream-cheese frosting and arranged in two or three layers.

Hummingbird cake originated in Jamaica, where it was known as doctor bird cake or Dr. Bird cake. The name refers to Jamaica’s national bird, the scissors-tailed hummingbird, which is locally called the doctor bird. In 1968, the Jamaica Tourist Board distributed the recipe in American press kits promoting travel to the island.

The recipe became especially popular in the United States after Southern Living published a version in February 1978. That recipe won the Favorite Cake Award at the Kentucky State Fair later that year, helping establish the dessert as a Southern favorite. Pecans are traditional in the Southern version, though walnuts can substitute. Despite its name, the cake contains no hummingbird-related ingredient.