The Tom Cruise coconut cake—the white chocolate coconut bundt he famously gifts from Doan’s Bakery each holiday—can be made at home. Inspired by the famous Doan’s Bakery white chocolate coconut bundt, this copycat recipe–developed by a pastry chef who purchased and tasted the original cake–matches the flavor, texture, and signature frosting.
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Meet This Copycat Tom Cruise Coconut Cake Recipe
This cake is guaranteed to impress. We’re calling this copycat Tom Cruise cake recipe “Mission: Possible!” This moist white chocolate coconut bundt tastes just like the cake from Doan’s Bakery near Los Angeles, California, but it’s better homemade (and saves you roughly $130 compared with buying the original). Moist and tender, it’s layered with shredded coconut and white chocolate chips, then frosted with fluffy cream cheese coconut icing.
Step-by-step instructions follow, along with tips for frosting, coconut coating, and storage, so you can recreate this legendary bundt cake in your own kitchen. Read on, and watch the video recipe below of how to make this moist, flavorful cake.
And if you like cake and coconut, you’ll also like these recipes for moist carrot cake and coconutty Irish potato candies. For coconut in no-bake candy form, our chocolate-covered coconut cream Easter eggs are a perfect springtime companion to this cake.
Watch: Tom Cruise Coconut Cake Recipe Video Tutorial
For a visual guide, follow along with our step-by-step video to make this iconic Tom Cruise coconut cake. From mixing the batter to frosting the bundt, you’ll see exactly how to recreate the famous Doan’s white chocolate coconut bundt in your own kitchen.
Follow along with this video recipe, as we recreate the famous Tom Cruise white chocolate coconut bundt cake from Doan’s Bakery with step-by-step instructions.
What Is the Legendary Tom Cruise Cake?
An annual holiday tradition that’s reached near-mythic status, each December Tom Cruise sends a select number of Hollywood friends and favorites a bundt cake gift. And not just any bundt cake. This is an absolutely delicious sour cream white chocolate coconut bundt cake from family-run Doan’s Bakery in Woodland Hills, California — a cake so good that Tom Hanks said he’d have it for his last meal.
What Does the Tom Cruise Cake Taste Like?
This white chocolate coconut bundt cake, a.k.a. the Tom Cruise coconut cake, is a moist, dense coconut cake folded with a layer of white chocolate in the batter to produce a white chocolate ridge. More white chocolate chips and shredded coconut are sprinkled on top before baking. Once cooled, the cake gets spread all over with fluffy cream cheese frosting, then covered in sweet shredded coconut flakes.
It’s a deliciously moist cake, with definite coconut flavor inside and out. The white chocolate chip flavor adds an almost caramelized butteriness to the flavor. And best of all? This dupe recipe is even better.
Why This Copycat Recipe Is the Most Accurate One
To make this copycat Tom Cruise coconut cake, I bought the original Doan’s white chocolate coconut bundt that Tom Cruise famously sends each holiday, then spent several test bakes getting it just right. As a professional pastry chef, I focused on the details that make this cake iconic: moist, tender crumb, a generous white chocolate ridge, and sweet and fluffy coconut frosting coating. I tweaked frosting thickness, batter flavor and texture, white chocolate distribution, and assembly to stay faithful to the original, but practical for home bakers.
The result? A cake that delivers all the original’s magic–the flavor, the texture, the presentation–without the $130 price tag. Plus: It’s a lot of fun to make yourself.
Chewy white chocolate chip cookies are a great, easy cookie for white chocolate lovers. Want something savory? Try this coconut ginger rice.
Step-by-Step Instructions to Make Tom Cruise Coconut Cake
This is a fairly straightforward recipe for a coconut bundt cake, layered with white chocolate chips, and frosted and covered in coconut buttercream. Follow these step-by-step instructions for a Tom Cruise coconut cake that looks and tastes like the bakery version.
The Ingredients
Here are the ingredients you will need to make the Tom Cruise copycat cake, and why. (For exact quantities, see the recipe card, below.)
- Butter: adds flavor and fat that will make this cake moist and tender
- Sugar: to add sweetness and help aerate the cake
- Eggs: for structure and richness
- Sour Cream: for tang and moisture
- Vanilla extract: to bring out the sweetness
- Lemon juice: adds acid for leavening, and lightens the flavor just a bit
- All-purpose flour
- Baking powder and baking soda: to leaven the cake
- Salt: to help round out the flavor
- Coconut milk: adds coconut flavor to the cake batter
- White chocolate chips or chopped white chocolate
- Sweetened shredded coconut: more coconut flavor, sweetness, flavor, and decoration
- Cream cheese: for tang and richness
- Powdered sugar: adds sweetness and serves as a main ingredient for the cream cheese frosting
Ingredient Substitutions
- The White Chocolate: Upon very close inspection, Doan’s white chocolate coconut bundt cake uses white chocolate chips. You can use white chocolate chips for ease and technical accuracy, but I suggest using chopped white chocolate if you want an even better result. Real white chocolate contains cocoa butter, sugar, and tastes wonderful. White chocolate chips are mainly artificial ingredients.
- The Coconut: Sweetened, shredded coconut is preferred here. However, unsweetened coconut flakes will also taste and work just fine, but the overall result will be sliiiightly less sweet.
- The Coconut Milk: Coconut milk adds more coconut flavor to the cake itself. But buttermilk makes an excellent substitute. Just eliminate the lemon juice, since buttermilk is already acidic.
Step-by-Step Instructions
Now, let’s bake the cake.
- Preheat the oven.
- Make the batter: In a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, whip the butter, sugar, eggs, sour cream, lemon juice, and vanilla until light. Alternate adding the dry ingredients and the coconut milk into the batter. Add most of the shredded coconut and mix.
- Pour the batter into the bundt and bake: In a 10″ standard nonstick bundt pan, pour add 1/3 of the batter; even it out with a spatula. Layer in most of the white chocolate ship, reserving about 1/4 cup. Pour in the rest of the batter and smooth evenly. Sprinkle the batter with the remaining chocolate chips and shredded coconut.
- Bake the white chocolate coconut bundt cake for about 1 hour 25 minutes. Let the cake rest for about 40 minutes, or until still warm but cool enough to handle. Turn the cake out onto a wire cooling rack. Cool fully.
- Frost and finish: Use an offset spatula to frost the bundt cake with the buttercream. Spread shredded sweetened coconut over the entire surface. Enjoy!
Tips for the Perfect Coconut Bundt Cake
These helpful pro tips will help you achieve the best possible result for your copycat Tom Cruise cake.
Cake Storage and Freezing Tips
- Refrigeration: The Tom Cruise coconut cake is a very moist cake, and will keep covered at room temperature for about three days. I love storing a cake under a beautiful pedestal cake dome, such as this.
- Freezing: This Tom Cruise copycat cake also freezes very well, with or without the buttercream. Thaw at room temperature at least 6 hours in advance, not in the refrigerator.
How to Release the Bundt Cake to Prevent Sticking
The curse of any bundt baker is a cake that sticks to the cake pan. All of those crannies and curves, coupled with a cake’s natural tendency to stick to a cake pan, can make releasing a bundt from the cake pan feel a little nerve wracking. But don’t worry.
The first step is to grease the bundt well with a good baking spray or butter (even if it’s nonstick), then dust the inside with flour. This is the bundt pan I use. To release a bundt in a way that minimizes the risk of sticking:
- Turn the cake out onto a cooling rack while it’s still very warm. This is a big cake, so I release the cake about 35 to 40 minutes after it comes out of the oven.
- Before you turn the cake upside down onto the wire rack, run a small offset spatula or knife around the inner and outer edges of the bundt pan to help separate the cake from the sides.
F.A.Q.s: Tom Cruise Coconut Cake Copycat
This recipe closely replicates the original. Multiple test bakes matched the flavor, texture, and signature coconut coating, while making it reliable for home bakers. This was done by a professional pastry chef who purchased and sampled the original Doan’s Bakery cake (for $129.99) against each version until it matched or exceeded the original flavor.
Also, though the official Doan’s coconut cake recipe has never been published, some information is out there. Goldbelly, the service through which Doan’s ships its cakes, offers a helpful description — one straight from the bakery itself. From the Goldbelly cake description:
“This package serves 12-16 people and includes a White Chocolate Coconut Bundt Cake”
“Each bundt cake measures approx. 10″”
“This legendary White Chocolate Coconut Cake is Doan’s most famous creation and for good reason. They start with a ring of moist, luxurious coconut bundt cake, mix in chunks of sweet white chocolate, layer on rich cream cheese frosting, and then dust it all over with toasted coconut flakes.”
My first test was too dense, lacked coconut flavor, and got the structure of the white chocolate chips wrong. My second test was better. The cake tasted great, but the white chocolate and coconut elements needed more “oomph.” The third test was very close. I added coconut milk and shredded coconut to the batter, and layered the white chocolate into the batter instead of stirring in the chips. The fourth and fifth tests were mainly just perfecting what was already very good. I made final adjustments to the amount of fats, and realized that even though Doan’s uses white chocolate chips, chopped white chocolate has a much better flavor. I also made my cake a little higher, for more cake and a better look.
The final result? A glorious, deeply flavorful, moist replica white chocolate coconut bundt cake with cream cheese frosting — one Doan’s Bakery and Tom Cruise would be proud of.
Yes. You can make the cake up to three days in advance and store covered at room temperature, or wrap and freeze for up to three months. The frosting will look and taste best if applied shortly before serving, though. If frozen, thaw the cake at room temperature overnight, or about 6 to 8 hours before serving.
The Tom Cruise copycat cake is extremely moist, and will keep covered at room temperature for about three days.
Love a really good cake? You’ll also love these recipes:
Tom Cruise Coconut Cake Recipe (Copycat Doan’s Coconut Bundt)
Ingredients
For the White Chocolate Coconut Cake Batter
- 2 sticks (8 ounces) butter, softened
- 2 cups sugar
- 3 large eggs
- 1/2 cup sour cream
- 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
- 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
- 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt (I use Diamond Crystal)
- 3 cups all-purpose flour
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
- 3/4 cup unsweetened coconut milk
- 1/4 cup water
- 2/3 cup (about 2 ounces) sweetened shredded coconut, divided
- 1 1/2 cups (9 ounces) white chocolate chips or chopped white chocolate, divided
- Baking spray and a little flour to grease and dust the bundt pan
For the Cream Cheese Frosting and to Finish
- 1 stick (4 ounces) butter, softened
- 8 ounces cream cheese, softened
- 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
- 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
- 3 3/4 cups (1 pound) confectioners' sugar
- 2 cups (about 5 ounces) sweetened, shredded coconut
Instructions
Bake the Cake
- Preheat the oven to 325 degrees Fahrenheit.
- Make the batter. In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, whip the butter and sugar on medium-high until fluffy. Add the eggs one at a time, then the sour cream, lemon juice, vanilla, and salt. Beat until light. Scrape the bowl with a spatula to make sure everything is mixed.
- In a separate bowl, stir together the flour, baking powder, and baking soda. In another bowl, whisk together the coconut milk and water. Alternate adding the dry ingredients and the coconut milk mixture into the batter (dry, wet, dry). Add all but two tablespoons of the shredded coconut and mix just until fully combined. Scrape the bowl. PRO TIP: Coconut milk may separate in the can. A quick whisk in a bowl will emulsify if again.
- Grease the cake pan and pour the batter. Grease a 10" standard nonstick bundt pan with cooking spray or butter. Dust lightly with flour, and tap out the excess. Pour about 1/3 of the batter into the bundt and even it out with a spatula. Sprinkle in a layer of most of the white chocolate chips, reserving about 1/4 cup. Pour the rest of the batter on top of the chips and smooth evenly. Sprinkle the top of the batter with the reserved chocolate chips and coconut. PRO TIP: I never grease a bundt pan too early. The grease will often pool at the bottom of the cake pan. But be sure to grease yours very well.
- Bake the cake. Bake for 1 hour 20 to 25 minutes, or until a cake tester comes out clean. Ovens can vary, so start checking around 1 hour 10 minutes and test the cake in a few spots. Cool for 35 to 40 minutes on a wire rack. The cake should still be warm, but cool enough to handle. Run a small offset spatula around the inner and outer rings of the bundt pan to help loosen the cake from the cake pan. Now the moment of truth: in one swift, meaningful motion, turn the cake upside down onto a wire cooling rack. You may need to give it a couple of taps. Remove the bundt pan and cool fully. PRO TIP: Always take a bundt cake out of the cake pan while it's still slightly warm; this helps ensure it will not stick. If you flip the cake over and it is still stuck, don't worry. Just flip it right-side up again, work it loose with the offset, and try again. If the worst happens and the dome of the cake does stick, just scrape it out and do a patch job as best you can. It gets covered in thick frosting anyway!
Frost With Cream Cheese Frosting, Decorate, and Serve
- Make the buttercream frosting. In a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, mix the butter, cream cheese, and powdered sugar on low until combined. Add the vanilla and salt and beat on medium-high for about 2 minutes, until fluffy and smooth. Scrape the bowl and beater, and beat again for 30 seconds to make sure everything is fully emulsified.
- Decorate. Use an offset spatula to frost the cake generally with the cream cheese buttercream, including the inner ring. You may not use all of the buttercream (I usually have a cup or so leftover.) Use your hand to cup and spread shredded sweetened coconut over the entire surface. Serves 10-12 people.
Video
Notes
- Always take a bundt cake out of the cake pan while it’s still a little warm; this helps ensure it will not stick
- Use a nonstick bundt pan. NordicWare bundts are very reliable.
- Run a small offset spatula around the the cake pan and down the sides, to help separate the cake from the sides before flipping it over.
- If you flip the cake over and it is still stuck, don’t worry. Just flip it right-side up again, work it loose with the offset spatula, and try again.
- If the worst happens and the dome of the cake does stick, just scrape it out and do a patch job as best you can. It gets covered in thick frosting anyway!
- The White Chocolate: Doan’s bakery uses white chocolate chips. You can use white chocolate chips for ease and accuracy, but chopped white chocolate gives a better result. Real white chocolate contains cocoa butter, sugar, and tastes wonderful. White chocolate chips are mainly artificial ingredients.
- The Coconut: Sweetened, shredded coconut is preferred here. Unsweetened coconut flakes will also taste and work just fine, but will be slightly less sweet.
- The Coconut Milk: Coconut milk adds more coconut flavor to the cake itself. But buttermilk makes an excellent substitute. If using buttermilk, eliminate the lemon juice, since buttermilk is already acidic.
Nutrition
Disclaimer: Nutrition information is provided for courtesy purposes only, and is an estimate not verified by medical or nutrition experts. Read the full nutrition disclaimer.
37 comments
Roni
Question, can I use dessicated coconut in the recipe instead? Because I don’t have any sweetened shredded coconut in any of the stores near me, is there also an alternative method when using dessicated coconut?
Lisa Ruland
Hi, Roni! Yes, you can substitute desiccated coconut in the cake. However, desiccated is drier and finer, so you may need to add a bit more liquid to the recipe or soak the desiccated coconut first to prevent dryness. I recommend soaking it in just enough milk to moisten it.
Charlotte
Question, can thus cake be make as a layer cake instead of a bundt cake?
Lisa Ruland
Hi, Charlotte! The answer is yes, it can! However, there are a few little tweaks to make. First, instead of trying to do a layer of white chocolate chips within the batter, just stir them all in. The layers will be too short to effectively make the white chocolate band in the cake. Second, the bake time. I think this would work as three 8″ or 9″ cake layers–just don’t fill each cake pan more than 2/3 full), and the bake time should be in the range of about 30 to 35 minutes, or until the cake tester comes out clean. Finally, double the buttercream recipe if you want to have enough for both the layers and sides of the cake. Enjoy!
Theresa Adene
Hi, Lisa! I have to write and tell you that this cake is fabulous. I live around Los Angeles and have actually tasted the real Doan’s cake from the bakery, and this is very accurate but also even a little bit better! As someone with a big family, I like that you made it a little bit bigger than the original. This is a great recipe. Thanks for all the trial and error!
Lisa Ruland
Aw, thanks so much, Theresa! I am glad you like it. It has definitely become one of my favorite cakes.
Ashley Vaughan
Hi Lisa! Am bringing a Thanksgiving dessert this year to our hostess who’s gluten-free and a coconut/Tom Cruise lover, so this is the perfect choice? What shall I do to make this recipe gluten-free? TYSM for sharing, and Happy Thanksgiving to you!
Lisa Ruland
Hi, Ashley! Happy Thanksgiving in advance! She will be so excited about this cake. You can do a 1:1 flour subsitution with a high-quality GF flour. My favorite brand by far is Cup4Cup. It’s a little more expensive, but the result is excellent. My second-choice pick (also good!) for GF flour is King Arthur. Definitely follow up with any more questions, and I can’t wait to hear how it turns out.
LizG.
This is seriously the best cake I have ever had. I actually did not make it, my mom did and I ate about a third of it when I went over for dinner two days ago. I couldn’t help it haha. She told me where she got the recipe, and I look forward to making this for Christmas. Also just subscribed!
Martha H.
Thank you for this fabulous recipe. This is honestly one of the best coconut cakes I have ever eaten, even if I had to make it myself instead of Tom Cruise sending it 🙂 I recommend adding the white chocolate chip layer right in the middle (so batter 50/50) because it did sink a bit. Bake time was accurate for me.
Lisa Ruland
Sigh, if only Tom had our addresses, right? So glad you liked the cake! Thanks for the great comment.
Angelica O.
This is one of the best cakes you will ever eat, hands-down. This was DEVOURED. Half of it is in the freezer, but I keep taking it out to cut another slice. Send help! haha.
Maxine Alchek
This cake is marvelous. The crumb is moist but not claggy, and the balance of flavors is perfect. I used about 3/4 of the confectioner’s sugar for the frosting, and I thought that was perfect. I also covered it in a combo of toasted and untoasted coconut. I did have a serious fight with the bundt pan to get it out, and it actually split and I had to scrape it out and put it back together. My pan is non-stick, I really greased that sucker, and I tried to tip it out when it was still warm, not totally cooled. I think the issue was that the melted white chocolate layer in the cake was too gooey cuz that’s where the cake split. I used excellent white chocolate, which has more cocoa butter, which makes it gooier. In the future– cuz I’m DEFINITELY making this cake again– I’ll mix more white chocolate thru the batter, use less for the layer in the middle, and add it after 2/3 of the batter rather than 1/3. I’ll also bake the cake a few minutes longer. Despite these construction issues, the cake was demolished. People couldn’t get enough. THANK YOU for this wonderful recipe.
Lisa Ruland
Hi, Maxine! Argh…the dreaded stuck bundt problem! I am so glad you were able to patch it back together and enjoyed the cake so much anyway. Thank you for the great note and feedback, and happy baking!
Brandy McG.
I agree with many other comments that this is one of the best coconut cakes I have ever had. It is a little tricky with the bundt and layering, but not too bad. The frosting is delicious. This was m daughter’s birthday cake and she asked if this could be her birthday cake from now on 🙂 Thank you for the recipe and good tips.
B.G.M.
I actually have tasted the “real thing” a couple of years ago and I thought it was pretty good. This actually tastes much better from what I remember, but still looks the exact same (but a little bigger, which I think is a good thing). I recommend letting this cool for 30 minutes, if not a little longer.
Lisa Ruland
Hi, and that’s wonderful! I am so glad you liked the cake–and also got to compare it to the real thing!