Every Year Tom Cruise Sends Holiday Coconut Cakes to His Celebrity Friends Like They’re in a Weird Cake Cult
Tom Cruise is extremely well-known by the general public for his iconic film roles in Mission: Impossible, Risky Business and Top Gun among others, but among his famous friends, he's also known for his literally sweet gift-giving—especially during the holiday season. In fact, several of Cruise's celebrity friends, including Rosie O'Donnell and Kirsten Dunst, have revealed that the actor gifts them a now-signature coconut cake (from Doan's Bakery in Woodland Hills, California, per Us Weekly) every year near Christmastime.
"Christmas is here when Tommy's gift shows up #holidayseason," O'Donnell posted to her Instagram account on December 9 alongside a photo of the coveted cake, wrapped in white and gold ribbon with a golden reindeer ornament attached. "Warmest wishes to you this holiday season," reads a note attached to the box, signed with Cruise's name.
How I Met Your Mother actress Colbie Smulders revealed to Jimmy Fallon on The Tonight Show back in November 2019 that she too receives the cake every year, referring to it as the "most glorious time of year." Smulders, who starred alongside Cruise in the 2016 thriller Jack Reacher: Never Go Back, also called it the "Tom Cruise cake" and dished that she "slowly" chips away at the cake, storing it in her freezer for months.
Fallon said he also receives the annual coconut cake and always eats it despite his lack of a sweet tooth. "It's Tom Cruise," said the talk show host. "You get a cake, you get anything from Tom Cruise, you eat, you put in the freezer, and you save it for a year."
"I hope I get the cake this year," added Fallon.
Apparently, Cruise has been sending these legendary cakes out for years.
Cruise's Mission: Impossible - Fallout co-star Henry Cavill told Jimmy Kimmel on his talk show in July 2018 that when he first received the cake, he was hesitant to eat it—and not because he though it was going to convert him to Scientology. "One day I received said coconut cake, which said, 'Happy Christmas Henry, from Tom Cruise.'" The Justice League star thought the cake was "going to be made of healthy stuff," but he was convinced to try it by a friend. "It's the most luxurious, unhealthy cake," Cavill added. "I then ate the whole thing."
Another Mission Impossible - Fallout star, Angela Bassett, dished to James Corden (alongside Cruise himself) on The Late Late Show in July 2018 that she and her husband, actor Courtney B. Vance, were also gifted the signature cake. "But only I ate it," quipped Bassett. The talk show host noted that he once woke up to a chocolate cake from Cruise the morning of the 2018 Grammy Awards, which Corden hosted.
"I woke up to someone knocking on my door. It was like 8 a.m., and they presented me with an incredible chocolate cake, and it was from Tom Cruise," the Prom actor divulged. "I was like, 'This is how you look so good. You make everyone else around you fat!'"
The cake is apparently so good that Kirsten Dunst has spoken publicly about it twice. She first spoke about the annual gift from Cruise, whom she co-starred with in Interview With a Vampire back in 1994, with Stylist magazine in October 2015. "[Tom] sends me a cake every Christmas," said the Bring It On star. "It gets eaten within a day at my house."
During an appearance on The Graham Norton Show in April 2016, Dunst gushed about it again: "It's the best coconut cake I've ever had in my life."
On an episode of The View back in December 2013, co-hosts Barbara Walters, Whoopi Goldberg, Sherri Shepherd and Jenny McCarthy also revealed that they were all sent cakes from Cruise, and they even brought one out to the table to eat on-air. "Let's get a fork," Shepherd eagerly suggested.
It's unclear when or why Tom Cruise's coconut cake tradition started, but suddenly our mouths are watering for a taste. Please send us a cake, Tom—we will jump on our couches in celebration.