My new Copycat Tom Cruise White Chocolate Coconut Bundt Cake is an incredibly delicious, moist, and flavorful copycat recipe of the famous Doan’s Bakery White Chocolate Coconut Bundt Cake Tom sends to all of his friends at Christmas. The catch? My version doesn’t cost $130 and, according to my kids, it’s better than the original! I can’t argue with that!
Be sure to check out the full video tutorial below!
The Tom Cruise Cake
Have you heard about the viral Tom Cruise cake? It’s a white chocolate coconut cake from Doan’s Bakery – a cake so delicious, Tom apparently gifts it to all of his friends at Christmas. In fact, several of those said friends have talked about it on social media and talk shows. The world of foodies hasn’t stopped talking about it, but many people aren’t trying it. Why? Because ordering the real deal has a hefty price tag on it: nearly $130.
Lucky for me, I got my hands on a few slices thanks for a friend who had it delivered for her birthday!
Doan’s Bakery White Chocolate Coconut Bundt Cake
The original Doan’s Bakery version of this cake is described on the Goldbelly website as:
“The 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. The result is a delicious, pillowy cake good enough to derail the strictest Hollywood diets.”
I was eager to try this famous cake, but was unfortunately left underwhelmed. (Granted, I know the cake had been shipped, but I still had high hopes.)
My Review of the Doan’s White Chocolate Coconut Bundt Cake
Okay, real talk – I taste tested the Doan’s cake on Instagram stories last week and had a hard time hiding my lack of excitement for this cake. Here’s why:
- The cake itself lacked coconut flavor. To me, it tasted more like a dense yellow cake.
- The description says the cake has white chocolate chunks, but I never tasted one.
- I did think the cake was fairly moist, which won it some points. (After reading the description, we can thank the sour cream for that.)
- The buttercream was super duper sweet and had a strong cream cheese flavor. I felt like it overpowered the cake.
After tasting the real deal, I wondered if I could make a more flavorful, more moist cake – one that resembles the original version, but takes it up a notch.
White Chocolate Coconut Bundt Cake
It took me a few rounds of experiment to get the texture and flavor I wanted. In the first round, the cake was too fluffy and airy. In the second round, the cake was too dense. In the third round the texture was just right and the flavor was perfectly on point.
Here’s a look at what I did:
- For fat and flavor in the cake, I used half part coconut milk and half part buttermilk.
- I also added coconut emulsion to the cake to enhance the coconut flavor (feel free to substitute with coconut extract).
- Instead of chunks of white chocolate, I used melted chocolate, which gives the cake added richness.
- After pouring the batter into the pan, I topped the bottom of the cake with toasted coconut and then toffee pieces (instead of white chocolate chunks like the original – I liked the more caramelized flavor the toffee offers).
- In the buttercream, I used a mix of butter and cream cheese, but not too much cream cheese that it would overpower the other flavors.
- I also added coconut emulsion to the buttercream.
You can see how fluffy and smooth that cake batter is above, right? It’s so flavorful, so moist, and just so delicious! Just check out this close up below!
How Do I Store This Cake?
If you want to make this cake ahead of time, you’ll want to let the cake cool completely and then wrap it in plastic wrap and freeze it. Before serving, let it thaw for about 4 hours and then frost with the buttercream.
How to Make the Tom Cruise Coconut Bundt Cake: Video Tutorial
Copycat Tom Cruise White Chocolate Coconut Bundt Cake
Ingredients
FOR THE COCONUT CAKE
- 3 cups (360 g) all-purpose flour
- 2 teaspoons (8 g) baking powder
- 1 teaspoon (6 g) salt
- ½ cup (125 g) canned coconut milk, mixed before measuring
- ½ cup (120 g) buttermilk, at room temperature
- 1 tablespoon (16 g) coconut emulsion or extract
- 1 ¾ cups (350 g) granulated sugar
- 1 cup (226 g) unsalted butter, at room temperature
- 4 ounces white chocolate, melted
- 3 eggs, at room temperature
- 2 egg whites, at room temperature
FOR THE COCONUT BUTTERCREAM
- 1/2 cup (113 g) unsalted butter, slightly cold
- 4 ounces cream cheese
- 2 ½ cups (312.5 g) powdered sugar, measured then sifted
- 1 teaspoon (5.3 g) coconut emulsion
- Pinch of salt
GARNISH
- 1 cup (95 g) sweetened shredded coconut
- 1 cup (95 g) toasted coconut, I buy mine pre-toasted from Orson Gygi
- 1 cup toffee baking bits
Instructions
FOR THE WHITE CHOCOLATE COCONUT CAKE
- Preheat your oven to 325 degrees F. Spray a 12-cup bundt pan with nonstick spray. Dust with granulated sugar. Set aside.
- In a medium size bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, and salt. Set aside.
- In a small mixing bowl, stir together the coconut milk, buttermilk, and coconut emulsion. Set aside.
- In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the butter and sugar on medium speed until light in color and fluffy in texture, about 2 to 3 minutes.
- Stir in the melted white chocolate, followed by the eggs and egg whites, making sure to scrape down the sides and bottom of the bowl in between additions.
- Continue to beat on medium-high speed for about 2 minutes, until the mixture gets smooth in texture and slightly bigger in volume.
- With the mixer on low speed, add ⅓ of the flour mixture, followed by ½ the coconut mixture, another ⅓ of the flour, the second ½ of the coconut mixture, and then the remaining flour mixture. Stir until just combined.
- Pour the batter into the prepared pan. Sprinkle the top of the cake (which turns into the bottom) with the toasted coconut and then cover with the toffee bits (the coconut flakes need to go first so you can cover them with the toffee to help prevent the flakes from browning too much). Bake for 50 to 55 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center of the cake comes out with a few moist crumbs on it.
- Remove from oven and place the bundt pan on a cooling rack to cool completely. Allow the cake to cool for about an hour, until it’s room temperature, before inverting the cake on a cake stand. Allowing the cake to cool completely in the pan helps the cake to release from the sides cleanly when it’s time to take the cake out.
FOR THE COCONUT BUTTERCREAM
- In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, beat the butter and cream cheese for about 2 minutes, until lighter in color and fluffier in texture.
- With the mixer on low, gradually add the sifted powdered sugar, one cup at a time, mixing a little in between each addition.
- Stir in the coconut emulsion and salt.
- Turn the mixer to medium-high speed and beat for an additional 3 to 5 minutes. The buttercream will become lighter in color and texture.
ASSEMBLY
- Spread or pipe the buttercream on top of the cake. Cover with shredded coconut.
I love this cake, I have made it twice now. I can’t believe no one else has mentioned, it may be because my Bundt pan is silicone… it takes me 30 minutes longer to cook it than it says. It is literally raw at 50 minutes and I sort of ruin it taking it out to check it
My Bundt pan is out of metal and I had the same issue!
It is likely a combination of your pan and your oven might not be calibrated correctly. Silicone is the absolute worst for baking but first I would check your oven.
Same! I just made this recipe in a metal non stick bunt pan and it took about 15 minutes extra. It got pretty brown on top but still came out delicious.
This cake is perfection. A happy accident due to getting ingredients in a hurry lead to me using health bar bits instead of plain toffee bits. Delicious!
YAY!!!
Sounds like a fantastic 6 wait to try it. Has anyone tried making the recipe using metric measurements? I’ve has bad experiences making recipes where the conversions have been incorrect.
would you share the brand of mixer you use?
I used an Ankarsrum mixer with this cake.
What. The. Heck! Ten out of ten. Everyone needs to make this cake. It’s so easy to whip up. I was super lazy and mixed in the white chocolate chips into the batter. Instead of toasting the coconut flakes, I placed sweetened coconut flakes on top of the batter before baking and it toasted up nicely. This is the second recipe I’ve made from Courtney’s website and I already have my next bake planned for tonight!
Also, thank you for having all the measurements in grams. <3 And thank you for all these recipes, I'm so excited to have found you on Instagram!
I’d love to make this for my husband’s birthday as he’s a big Tom Cruise fan and this sounds delicious! Any tips on adjusting time/temp for a 2 layer, round cake instead of using a Bundt pan?
If it’s two 8-inch layers, it will probably take about 40 mins to bake. Keep your eye on it. Temp stays the same.
Could this be made into a layered cake?
I made this cake yesterday exactly as written. Turned out amazing ! Could this be turned into a layer cake? The crispy sweetness with the toffee and toasted coconut was the star of the cake. I think the toffee and coconut baked on each layer and then the cream cheese icing filling between layers would be incredible. Could the cake recipe be altered in anyway to make it a little lighter for a later cake ?
You can totally make it into a layered cake!
Made this cake for the first time the family loved it. My personal opinion thought it was a little dry. I baked it for 50 min but think next time I will test it at the 40-45 mark. I was asked to make it again so will see how it goes.
I made this cake, and it is delicious, but 1/4 on the topping sank into the cake. Not sure why only 1/4 sank, but wondered if you had any suggestions to avoid this problem?
Did you check it too early? That can sometimes happen if its not fully cooked.
I want to make this for my husband’s birthday, I have to do gluten free, corn free, and eggless. (Corn free means I need to sub out baking powder because it contains corn starch). What would you ise to sub out eggs (no flax either) i typically use bob’s egg replacer powder, but nervous about a recipe that asks for this many eggs
I actually like using the combo of vinegar and baking soda as an egg replacer. I wrote more about the combo here: https://cakebycourtney.com/egg-free-dairy-free-vanilla-cake/
Absolutely delicious! Do you any advise on how to recreate substituting the eggs if I have a guest with an egg allergy?
Yes, I actually have a whole post about it and everything I tested. Search my Dairy Free Egg Free Vanilla Cake recipe. You’ll see I like the combo of baking soda and vinegar to replace eggs.
Where is the full video? I couldn’t find it here. Videos really help us visual learners! Thanks ❤️ 😊
DELICIOUS!! This was easy to toss together and probably the best coconut cake I have ever made or had! 3 rd cake I have made off your site in 2 weeks! All amazing so I bought your books!
I haven’t tried this recipe yet, but it already sounds amazing! I was wondering if using condensed coconut milk would be possible as a (partial) substitute for the sugar and coconut emulsion?
I haven’t tried that sub with this cake, so I’m not sure how it will affect the texture and flavor. Sorry!
I made this for a party last night. This is the fluffiest cake batter I have ever made. My best friend kept sneaking back inside to cut off additional slivers. The whole thing was gone by the end of the night with many requests for the recipe! The only thing I changed was I did not add coconut extract to the icing. Very good!
Do you know if coconut cream can be substituted for the coconut milk?
Thank you for publishing this recipe!!
For the cake, you want to use coconut milk to ensure the right texture.
I haven’t made this yet…. but I’d like to make mini bundts… would that work? If so, what would you suggest for time and temp?
Tysm
Yes it should work great. Keep the temp the same. The bake time will reduce quite a bit but since I haven’t made them as mini bundts, I can’t give you an exact time. I’d start with 20 minutes (depending on how mini) and add time if necessary.
I am making this for our Thanksgiving dinner this weekend. We can not locate toffee bits anywhere. Can I use English toffee bits or another substitute?
Yes for sure. I couldn’t find them the other day either and crushed up Heath Bars instead.