I Tried Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson’s Brand-New “Naughty” Cake — And the Hype Is Real

Christmas is fast approaching, which means it’s time for an onslaught of seasonal offerings and limited-edition treats to get us into the holiday spirit. One product drop that definitely has my attention comes from my favorite WWE star-turned-tequila connoisseur: Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson (also known as Dwanta during the holiday season). The Rock partnered with Salt & Straw Ice Cream to debut the brand’s first-ever ice cream cake. 

Salt & Straw’s co-founder and pastry chef, Tyler Malek, created these decadent seven-layer cakes, combining layers of ice cream, freshly baked cake, and more delicious mix-ins. With the help of Dwanta, two cake flavors were born, both of which are inspired by The Rock’s favorite holiday treats. Fittingly named “Naughty” and “Nice,” I was thoroughly excited to get a taste of these absolutely divine-looking cakes and couldn’t help but wonder how much effort it would take for Dwanta to shimmy down my fireplace this Christmas (what a thought!). 

Naughty: Dwanta’s “Naughty” cake features seven layers of caramel, chocolate, and peanut butter goodness and will truly test the boundaries of what it means to be on your best behavior. The cake is topped with rich caramel chocolate fudge, followed by a layer of whiskey caramel ice cream, hunks of sea salt-laced peanut butter chocolate chip cookie dough, and finished with loads of crunchy chocolate-peanut butter puffs. 

Nice: The “Nice” cake is a decadent combination of peanut butter, jam, and coconut cream cake. As an ode to Dwanta’s favorite breakfast, coconut banana pancakes, the “Nice” cake has a soft coconut cake base laced with vanilla and layered with Oregon marionberry jam, rum-spiked bananas Foster ice cream, and hunks of rich peanut butter chocolate ganache. The entire cake is then topped with handfuls of crisp candied coconut streusel scented with vanilla and warming spices. 

Each cake weighs nearly a whopping 5 pounds and can serve up to 20 people for $89. Unfortunately, we just learned that the ice cream cakes have sold out (in record time), so in the chance Salt & Straw decides to release a second batch, keep an eye out for a restock.

I’m well aware of The Rock’s endless examples of delicious meals that he posts regularly to his Instagram. And this actually isn’t the first time the Moana star partnered with Salt & Straw for a unique holiday offering. The two created ice cream versions of the same “Naughty” and “Nice” flavorings back in 2021. Considering I’m a fan of the way this man eats, I knew right away that these cakes were going to be delicious in more ways than one. After being lucky enough to try both the “Naughty” and “Nice” cakes, I can honestly say that each one is an absolute holiday miracle.

I decided to try the “Nice” cake for the first taste, due to the fact that in most cases naughty is generally a lot more fun. The first thing that caught my attention is the healthy amount of marionberry jam in each bite. The sweetness of the jam and coconut balanced the rich bananas Foster ice cream and chunks of peanut butter chocolate ganache beautifully.

As for the “Naughty” cake, this experience was, in fact, a little more exciting and totally lives up to the term “saving the best for last.” Why is it that naughty always feels so right? At least in this case, Dwanta isn’t blessing me with a lump of coal, but rather a dangerously delicious and decadent ice cream cake. Right off the bat I was enthralled by the sweet and buttery caramel creaminess combined with the rich flavor of the peanut butter chocolate ganache. And the coffee-spiked layer of cake on the bottom was just the right amount of bitterness to tie everything together.

I honestly cannot decide which cake was better than the other, but what I can say is that there is a little bit of something for everyone between the two. So if you’re in the mood for something a little more dark and chocolatey, go naughty with it. And if you want something a little more light and sweet, keep it nice, baby. If you happen to be able to snag one or the other this holiday season, it is important to note that the proceeds from each cake benefit World Central Kitchen. And although they are currently sold out, keep your eyes peeled here for a Christmas miracle.