Mom’s Spartak Cake Recipe

This cake is pure awesomeness! Really! You can make the cake layers up to a week early. I love that; especially when you are cooking up a storm for an event. Wouldn’t it be pure awesomeness (I already said that) if your dessert was already done and it gets better with age, just like a good cheese; except it should sit closer to 10 hours, not 10 months or it may grow a mowhawk.

This recipe is brought to you by my Mama; the woman whose taste in food I inherited. Mom uses 3 springform pans so she is working on a layer while the other two are baking; efficiency! Theoretically, you could use a dinner plate to cut-out a circle of the dough and then place it on a non-stick floured cookie sheet to bake. Please don’t panic over the pictures; my mom doubles all of the ingredients and turns out 3 cakes in one evening (superwoman).

This recipe can make 2 shorter cakes, or 1 tall cake. You end up with about 10 layers if they are 9 inches in diameter. If making 2 cakes, each would have 4-5 layers (5 if you use graham crackers for crumbs), or one tall cake with 8-9 layers (with one layer for crumbs mixed with graham crackers). Mom always likes to add at least a couple crushed graham crackers to the crumb mix. It makes the whole cake tastier and pahuchye (fragrant).  Enjoy it!

Servings: 12-15
Cost to Make: $10-$12

What you will need: preferably 2 springform pans and a cookie cutter

Ingredients for Spartak Cake:
1 egg
1 cup sugar
4 tbsp unsalted butter, softened at room temp
6 tbsp (1/3 cup) milk, warmed to room temp
1 tsp baking soda
2 cups flour
2-3 graham crackers (optional)

Ingredients for Spartak Cream:
2 sticks (16 tbsp) butter, softened at room temp
1 can sweetened condensed milk
8 oz package cream cheese, softened at room temp
8 oz tub cool whip, fully thawed (or make your own by beating 1 cup of whipping cream with 1.5 tbsp powdered sugar)

How to Make Spartak Cake Layers:
1. Beat together 1 egg and 1 cup sugar (whisk attachment, medium speed, 6 minutes).
2. Add softened butter, warm milk, and baking soda. Mix on medium speed 1 minute, until smooth.
2. Bring a medium/large pot of water to a boil. Place mixture in a glass bowl or medium sauce pan over boiling water for 10 minutes, stirring constantly (if making a double portion, do 20 minutes since it takes longer to heat up)
3. Remove from heat and immediately mix in 2 cups flour and mix well. (Don’t wait to add flour or you will single-handedly destroy the cake).
Preheat the Oven to 350 degrees F.
Let stand 20 minutes until it is just warm; it thickens as it cools:  Note: It’s easier to roll out the dough while it’s still warm.
4. Dust flour over your non-stick surface (I wish I had my mom’s countertops!) Sprinkle flour over the dough as well so it wont’ stick to your rolling pin.
5. Roll out a heaping tablespoon of dough on a nonstick surface into about a 10-inch round. It should not be sticking to the surface.
6. Generously dust the base of the springform pan with flour.
7. Place the rolled out dough over the base of the springform pan, run a pizza cutter around it. It’s ready to bake.
8. Mix the scraps of dough with some fresh dough and roll it out again. Don’t waste those scraps!
9. Bake at 350 degrees F. until it turns golden (4-5 minutes). Don’t touch the top of the cake layer while its still hot, or you will indent it like I did – whoops!
Note: If one of your layers, is exceptionally oogly, don’t fret. Remember, you will take a rolling pin to one of them and make crumbs.
Notes: do not try to trim your cake layers after they are baked; they will crack.

How to Make the cream/frosting:
1. Using whisk attachment, beat together 2 packages butter and 1 can sweetened condensed milk on medium speed for 7 minutes, scraping down the bowl as necessary.
2. Mix in the softened cream cheese 1 chunk at a time until smooth, scraping down the bowl as necessary (2-3 minutes)
3. On low speed, mix in the cool whip (or whipped cream) until well blended.

Assembling the Cake:
1. Set one cake layer aside for crumbs (or use graham crackers) – or you can mix like we did.
Spread a thin layer of frosting over the first layer (enough to cover the surface) and go all the way to the edges.
2. Place the next layer on top. Frost and repeat this until you finish all the layers. Frost the sides and even out the frosting everywhere. Push down the layers in between so you don’t have gaps of air between your layers.
3. Crush the cake layer you set aside as well as the optional graham cracker.
4. Generously sprinkle the crumbs over the top.
5. Cup handfuls of crumbs and pat them onto the sides of the cake.
6. Transfer to a pretty serving dish and refrigerate overnight (it should sit at least 10 hours for the layers to soften).

Thank you Mama for being patient with me while I took a million pictures. I love you Mom!!