Have you ever wondered how an A-lister rings in the holidays? For Tom Cruise, one of his famous holiday traditions includes gifting a white chocolate coconut bundt cake to his close friends. Those friends are a who’s who of Hollywood’s elite; including Tom Cruise, Angela Bassett and Jimmy Fallon. The exact one they receive (and all love) comes from Doan’s Bakery in California, and costs around $130 USD.

If you don’t live in the area and/or want to spend that much money on one cake, the good news is that you can make it for yourself right at home! Inspired by the original Tom Cruise coconut cake, ours is moist, loaded with coconut and covered in a sweet buttercream frosting with a shaggy coconut flakes.

Celebrity status aside, this Bundt cake is perfect for any gathering, from a casual brunch to a holiday meal to a birthday party. It also makes for a great gift for a dinner party or housewarming.

Where does Tom Cruise get his white chocolate coconut bundt cake?

Tom Cruise coconut cake comes from Doan’s Bakery in Woodland Hills, California. The bakery was founded in 1984 by Karen Doan, who still runs the operations with her son, Eric. The white chocolate coconut Bundt cake is also her creation, and has become the most famous treat at Doan’s. It’s known as the “Tom Cruise cake.”

A Tom Cruise Coconut bundt cake covered with coconut with a slice on a plate next to it on a marble surface with a red background.

White Chocolate Coconut Bundt Cake

Soo Kim

This Tom Cruise coconut cake dupe is as good as the original (if not better!). It's moist, chocolatey and covered in shaggy coconut.

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Ingredients

1 tbsp unsalted butter softened
1½ tsp all-purpose flour

Cake

1 cup unsweetened medium coconut
1 cup unsalted butter softened
1¾ cups granulated sugar
3 eggs
2 egg whites
1½ tsp vanilla
¾ tsp coconut extract
¾ cup chopped white chocolate melted
2¾ cups all-purpose flour spooned and levelled
2 tsp baking powder
½ tsp baking soda
¾ tsp kosher salt
¾ cup coconut milk

Cream Cheese Buttercream

½ cup cool unsalted butter softened
½ cup cream cheese softened
1¾ cups icing sugar sifted
½ tsp kosher salt
¼ tsp coconut extract
1½ cups sweetened shredded coconut

Instructions

Preheat oven to 325°F. Blend butter with flour to form paste; brush all over inside of 10-cup Bundt pan.
Toast unsweetened coconut in oven until golden, 3 to 4 minutes; set aside.
Using stand mixer on medium, beat butter with sugar until light and creamy, 3 to 4 minutes. Beat in eggs 1 at a time; beat in egg whites, then vanilla and coconut extract. Beat in melted chocolate.
In separate bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Stir into butter mixture alternately with coconut milk, making 3 additions of dry ingredients and 2 of coconut milk. Fold in toasted coconut.
Scrape into prepared pan, smoothing top. Bake until cake tester inserted in centre comes out clean, 55 to 60 minutes. Let cool in pan on a rack for 20 minutes. Invert onto rack; remove pan and let cool completely. Transfer cake to cake plate.
Using stand mixer fitted with paddle attachment, beat butter and cream cheese on medium until light, about 2 minutes. Scrape bottom and side. With mixer on low, gradually add icing sugar ½ cup at a time. Beat in salt and coconut extract on medium until very light and almost doubled in volume, about 3 minutes.
Spread on cooled cake and cover with sweetened coconut.