How the 'Tom Cruise cake' became a major Hollywood status symbol
When you’ve got fame, all the money you could ever need, and innumerable numbers of realised dreams, it’s no wonder that awards season can seem like the most important time in some actors’ lives.
Getting recognition from your peers for being a phenomenal actor, writer, director or whatever else must feel pretty special, especially at an event like the Oscars or Tonys.
Awards can even be a raison d'être for some movies – we’ve all heard the term ‘Oscar bait’ thrown at the big budget yet austere films that typically hoover up the trophies. We’re looking at you, The Brutalist.
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There’s one award that doesn’t depend on your acting chops, although they might help you to get your foot in the door: the Tom Cruise coconut cake.
It’s a longstanding and well-known badge of honour in Hollywood circles
Reportedly costing $126 a pop, the white chocolate and coconut Bundt cake is made at Doan’s Bakery in California.
Among the recipients are husband and wife Kirsten Dunst and Jesse Plemons, with Dunst having previously worked with Cruise in 1994’s Interview with the Vampire when she was just 12 years old.
Apparently, she’s had one of Cruise’s cakes every year since. Jesse Plemons, an excellent actor in his own right, wins by association with this one.
Other notable recipients include Glen Powell, Cruise’s co-star on Top Gun: Maverick, and he’s said he invited others to enjoy the festive treat.
Hayley Attwell, who joined Cruise on Mission: Impossible, shared her cake in 2023 which bore the message: "Warmest wishes to you this holiday season, Tom Cruise."
Tom Hanks has said the cake is 'so great you can really only have it once a year', and both Elle and Dakota Fanning have also made the cut.
Jon Hamm, another Top Gun: Maverick alumnus, once said he is ‘very proud’ to be on the list, and Graham Norton has been treated to the cake before as well.
"I was talking about you being on the cake list and somebody said 'Oh, yeah, we get a cake from Tom every year,' and I went, 'Do we? I've never seen the bloody cake,'" said Norton whilst discussing the phenomenon with Renée Zellweger, Lenny Henry, and Louis Theroux.
The trouble with getting to the top, however, is that there’s a long way down.
Some people have found their cake supply has run dry over the years, with one example being Brooke Shields.
"I was on the list for a while. I had a good 10-year run, and I got the coconut cake every year, which I was very happy [about],” she told People.
"And then the cake stopped.
"I want to get back on that cake list. It's the best cake."
Topics: Celebrity
Rachael Davis