Chocolate Spartak Cake Recipe

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You have to make this chocolate Spartak layer cake for the holidays! This cake is a close relative of the wildly popular original Spartak cake I posted last year. I made the chocolate Spartak cake on Sunday and took it over to my parent’s house for dinner. It was my first time baking the chocolate Spartak which is now a family favorite and extended family favorite. No crumb was left behind (I was half hoping to take a slice of heaven home with me).

The room was buzzing with happy cake eaters – and my family is open and honest; they level with me if something needs to be scrapped.

This cake takes some effort, but it’s oh-so worth it! Big Thank you to Laura, one of my readers who shared her suggestions on rolling out the dough and using parchment paper. I love learning from you all!

What you will need for Chocolate Spartak Cake:

2 large sheets of parchment paper
round plate or the base of a 9″ springform pan

Ingredients for Chocolate Spartak Cake:

1 egg
1 cup sugar
4 Tbsp unsalted butter, softened
1/3 cup warm milk
1 tsp baking soda
2 cups minus 1 Tbsp all-purpose flour *measured correctly
1 1/2 Tbsp unsweetened cocoa

Ingredients for Chocolate Spartak Cream:

2 sticks (16 Tbsp) butter, softened at room temp
14 oz can sweetened condensed milk (raw/un-cooked)
8 oz package cream cheese, soft at room temp
3/4 cup of very cold heavy whipping cream
1 1/2 Tbsp powdered sugar

Watch How To Make Chocolate Spartak Cake:

How to Make Chocolate Spartak Cake Layers:

Preheat the Oven to 350 ° F at step 5 while your dough is standing 20 min. 
1. Sift together 2 cups minus 1 Tbsp all-purpose flour with 1 1/2 tbsp cocoa.

Chocolate Spartak

2. Beat together 1 egg and 1 cup sugar with a whisk attachment of your stand mixer (medium speed, 6 min).

Chocolate Spartak-1

3. Add 4 Tbsp softened butter, warm milk, and baking soda. Mix on medium/high speed 3 min, until smooth (or mostly smooth).

Chocolate Spartak-2

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4. Bring a medium/large pot of water to a boil. Place mixture in a glass bowl or medium sauce pan over the steam (not immersed in the water) for 10 min, stirring frequently.

Chocolate Spartak-4 

5. Remove from heat and immediately stir in sifted flour & cocoa and mix well. (Add flour right away or you will ruin the dough and it may crack when you roll it out).Let stand 20 minutes; until dough is just warm; it thickens as it cools:

Note: It’s easier to roll out the dough while it’s still warm.

Chocolate Spartak-5

Preheat the Oven to 350 °F.
6. Place a heaping Tbsp over a large sheet of parchment paper. Sprinkle flour over the dough (so it doesn’t stick to your rolling pin) and roll it out to a very thin 9″ circle. Place your round dish over the dough and use a pizza slicer to cut out the circle. Pull the scraps away from the circle or they will bake into it. I was able to get two circles on one large sheet of parchment paper and baked them together. Bake the parchment paper with dough directly on the middle oven rack at 350˚F for 4-5 minutes until the edges barely start to brown (no need for a baking sheet). Don’t touch the top of the cake layer while it’s hot, or you’ll leave finger indents.

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7. Place the baked scraps to a separate bowl; you’ll need them for the top. Transfer cake layers to a clean, dry surface. They can be stacked once they are cooled to room temp. You can also make the layers several days in advance and store them in plastic wrap until ready to frost. I’m frugal so I re-used each sheet of parchment paper a couple times and then kept it for a temporary cake decorating surface.

Chocolate Spartak-8

How to Make the cream/frosting:

1. Using the whisk attachment on your stand mixer, beat together 2 packages softened butter and 1 can sweetened condensed milk on medium speed 7 min, scraping down the bowl as needed. Goodness this by itself might make a luscious cupcake frosting!!

Chocolate Spartak-9

2. Mix in the softened cream cheese a little bit at a time until smooth (2-3 min). It’s important that the cream cheese is really soft or you might get small chunks of cream cheese in the frosting. Scrape down the bowl as needed.

Chocolate Spartak-10

3. In a separate bowl, beat very cold heavy whipping cream and 1 1/2 Tbsp powdered sugar on high speed (about 2 min) or until stiff peaks form. Fold whipped cream into the rest of the frosting until well blended.

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Assembling Chocolate Spartak Cake:

1. Place your first layer over one of the sheets of parchment paper and spread enough frosting to cover the entire surface. Place the next layer on top and press it down with your hand so you don’t end up with air gaps. Repeat step one with all the layers. Finish by frosting the sides.

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3. Use a rolling pin to crush the baked cake scraps you set aside (again, another good way to re-use that parchment paper!).

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4. Generously sprinkle the crumbs over the top and sides. The sides are tough to put crumbs on. At one point I got frustrated and started throwing crumbs at the cake. Then I learned you can kind of toss the crumbs at the base up onto the cake by flicking the sides of the parchment paper; just do the best you can. Refrigerate overnight (it takes about 10 hours for the layers to soften).

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It cleans up nice! 🙂

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P.S. Do you know this cake as Spartak or Napoleon? It seems there are some differing opinions out there.

Natasha's Kitchen Cookbook

Chocolate Spartak Cake Recipe

4.94 from 115 votes
Author: Natasha of NatashasKitchen.com
Prep Time: 1 hour
Cook Time: 20 minutes
Total Time: 1 hour 20 minutes

Ingredients 

Servings: 10 -12

Ingredients for Cake Layers:

  • 1 egg
  • 1 cup sugar
  • 4 Tbsp unsalted butter, softened
  • 1/3 cup warm milk
  • 1 tsp baking soda
  • 2 cups minus 1 tbsp all-purpose flour
  • 1 1/2 Tbsp unsweetened cocoa

Ingredients for Spartak Cream

  • 2 sticks, 16 Tbsp butter, softened at room temp
  • 14 oz can sweetened condensed milk, (397 grams) raw/un-cooked
  • 8 oz package cream cheese, soft at room temp
  • 3/4 cup of very cold heavy whipping cream
  • 1 1/2 Tbsp powdered sugar

Instructions

How to Make Spartak Cake Layers: Preheat the Oven to 350˚ F at step 5 while dough is cooling.

  • Sift together 2 cups minus 1 tbsp flour with 1 1/2 Tbsp cocoa. Set aside.
  • Beat together 1 egg and 1 cup sugar with whisk attachment on medium speed for 6 min.
  • Add 4 Tbsp softened butter, warm milk, and baking soda. Mix on medium/high speed 3 min, until smooth.
  • Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Place mixture in a glass bowl or medium sauce pan over the steam for 10 min, stirring frequently.
  • Remove from heat and immediately add sifted flour and cocoa mixture.Stir until even consistency. (Add flour right away or you will ruin the dough). Let stand at room temp 20 min; until just warm. It thickens as it cools. It's easier to roll out dough if it's still warm. Preheat the Oven to 350˚ F.
  • Place a heaping tbsp of dough over a large sheet of parchment paper. Sprinkle flour over the dough (so it doesn't stick to your rolling pin) and roll it out to a very thin 9" circle. Place your round dish over the dough and use a pizza slicer to cut out the circle. Push the scraps away from the circle or they will bake into it. I was able to get two circles on one large sheet of parchment paper and baked them together. Bake the parchment paper with dough directly on the middle oven rack at 350 for 4-5 min until edges just start to brown. Don't touch the tops of the layers while hot; it will indent. Reserve the baked scraps.
  • Transfer layers to a clean, dry surface. They can be stacked once cooled to room temp. You can also make the layers several days in advance and store them in plastic wrap until ready to frost. You can re-use the parchment papers to roll out and bake all the layers.

How to Make the cream/frosting:

  • With the whisk attachment, beat together 2 packages softened butter and 1 can sweetened condensed milk on medium speed for 7 min, scraping down the bowl as needed.
  • Mix in the softened cream cheese a little bit at a time until smooth (2-3 min). It's important that the cream cheese is really soft or you might get small chunks of cream cheese in the frosting. Scrape down the bowl as needed.
  • In a separate bowl, beat very cold heavy whipping cream and 1 1/2 tbsp powdered sugar on high speed (about 2 min) or until stiff peaks form. Fold whipped cream into the rest of the frosting until well blended.

Assembling the Cake:

  • Place your first layer over one of the re-used sheets of parchment paper and spread enough frosting to cover the entire surface. Place the next layer on top and press it down with your hand so you don't have air gaps. Repeat step one with all the layers. Finish by frosting the sides.
  • Over the second re-used sheet of parchment paper, use a rolling pin to crush the baked cake scraps.
  • Generously sprinkle the crumbs over the top and sides. Refrigerate overnight (it takes about 10 hours for the layers to soften).
Course: Dessert
Cuisine: Russian, Ukrainian
Keyword: Chocolate Spartak Cake
Skill Level: Advanced
Cost to Make: $

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Chocolate Spartak

Natasha Kravchuk

Welcome to my kitchen! I am Natasha, the blogger behind Natasha's Kitchen (since 2009). My husband and I run this blog together and share only our best, family approved and tested recipes with YOU. Thanks for stopping by! We are so happy you're here.

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Comments

  • Tanya
    August 8, 2023

    Hi Natasha, How many layers from this recipe? I counted 8 in your cake.

    Reply

    • Natashas Kitchen
      August 8, 2023

      Hi Tanya, I’m usually able to get 7-8 layers from this recipe.

      Reply

  • Ang
    May 10, 2023

    Hi. Can this be make into mini spartak cakes? How often would you enlarge for 150 people? I want to make mini spartaks with only 4 layers.

    Reply

    • Natasha's Kitchen
      May 11, 2023

      I haven’t really tested that to advise. I bet that will work but you will have to experiment on it.

      Reply

  • Diana
    April 7, 2023

    Hi Natasha! Can I premake the sheets ahead of time? And how long can the sheets last?

    Reply

    • NatashasKitchen.com
      April 7, 2023

      Hi Diana! You can make the layers several days in advance and store them in plastic wrap until ready to frost. Make sure they are completely cooled before wrapping them in plastic.

      Reply

  • Inna Moser
    March 14, 2023

    To me it’s always been white is medovik, chocolate Spartak, the pastry layer type is napaleon.

    Reply

  • Janet
    March 9, 2023

    Hi Natasha, I love your recipes and have rarely had any issues with them, but today I made this cake and ended up putting in too much sweetened condensed milk into the icing because I went with the 14 oz weight measure. Our labeling in Canada says 300 ml and that converts to 10 ozs. You should probably specify that it’s 14 fluid ounces and equivalent to 10 ozs. I’m extra disappointed because I believe the extra condensed milk made my icing watery.

    Reply

    • Natasha
      March 10, 2023

      Hi Janet, I added the clarification that it is (397 grams). Another thing is to make sure to use HEAVY whipping cream which has a higher fat content than regular whipping cream and will create a firmer frosting. I hope that helps.

      Reply

  • Anna
    January 31, 2023

    This is one of the best chocolate Spartak cakes ever!!!
    Can I double the recipe and make two cakes ?

    Reply

    • NatashasKitchen.com
      January 31, 2023

      Hi Anna! I’m so glad you loved it! I have doubled the recipe exactly, but when I double the recipe I keep it over the hot water bath pretty much double the amount of time for the dough to form properly since it takes so much longer for a double batch to heat up. One reader mentioned warming the dough slightly in the microwave to make it easier to roll out.

      Reply

  • Yelena
    January 4, 2023

    Hey! Have a question about the cream, the first time I made the cream it turned out perfect. But today I made it again and it looked different when I mixed butter and condensed milk together after 7 minutes, it looked like I over beat it. But I still continued to add cream cheese and whipped heavy whip. So I wonder can I use that cream on the layers or should I redo the cream? Will it taste the same?

    Reply

    • NatashasKitchen.com
      January 4, 2023

      Hi Yelena! It should be fine to use still. The cake will be covered in crumbs so it won’t be as noticeable if it’s not completely smooth. One of my readers provided a great tip for this if it happens, “you beat softened butter for few minutes and then slowly add condensed milk and it turns out a nice texture.” I hope that helps!

      Reply

  • Dee Decheubel
    December 9, 2022

    I have made this cake for my Son’s birthday and it was such a hit that now my daughter wants this for her birthday. It was so fun to be in the kitchen with my daughter working together on this lovely. It helps to have one person rolling out and one person looking over the oven. The frosting is so good, I have used the recipe for other cakes! Thank you for such an amazing recipe!

    Reply

    • Natashas Kitchen
      December 9, 2022

      That is the best when kids love what we moms make. That’s so great! happy birthday to both of your kiddos!!

      Reply

  • Lana
    November 25, 2022

    Hi Natasha! Can I use the cream from your Honey Cake recipe for this cake? I don’t like butter cream and I am wondering if sour cream/ whipped cream would work with chocolate layers. Please let me know what do you think? Thank you!

    Reply

    • NatashasKitchen.com
      November 25, 2022

      Hi Lana! I think the combination would work fine.

      Reply

  • Nat
    October 29, 2022

    Which cocoa powder do you use? My layers are never this dark.

    Reply

    • NatashasKitchen.com
      October 29, 2022

      I’ve used different brands, Hershey’s brand is a good one.

      Reply

      • Nat
        November 3, 2022

        I only use Hersheys… maybe I need to add more than the recipe calls for.. thanks for the reply.

        Reply

  • Angelina
    January 20, 2022

    Yes a very delicious cake. I made it for my family and everyone gave me compliments.
    With this recipe, I got 6 round pieces without the crumbs (I used all the dough for the rounds).
    The cream is decadent and rich and if you like a lot of cream this is great.
    The chocolate wasn’t very pronounced in this cake; 1.5 tablespoons is not enough I think to make it truly chocolate. I will make this cake again, but will still look for a different more chocolatey recipe with more light cream.

    Reply

    • Natashas Kitchen
      January 22, 2022

      I’m so glad you enjoyed it!

      Reply

  • Dina Wood
    January 16, 2022

    Finally made this cake yesterday. It was much more work than expected. I remember this cake when I was a kid in Ukrainian but couldn’t remember the name. Cut into it today. Got to say, it was as I remember. It turned out perfectly. My fiancé, an American and sweets lover, enjoyed it very much. If I make it again, will add some slivered fresh strawberries on top. Now, on to пероги. Still have not mastered the dough or meat filling. Wonderful directions and instructional video for the cake. Thanks for sharing, Natasha!

    Reply

    • Natasha's Kitchen
      January 16, 2022

      Hi Dina, great to hear that it was a success! Thanks for sharing that with us and that sounds like a good plan for next time.

      Reply

  • Aileen Haig
    January 3, 2022

    Hi Natasha,
    I made your chocolate version of your mom’s Spartak cake for Christmas. It turned out very well and everyone loved it!! I used a chocolate ganache instead of crumbs… the finished product was as good as or better than what you would get in a high end European bakery. I also used your dulce de leche recipe in place of the sweet and condensed milk. Excellent!!
    I’ve tried many of your recipes and I really love the fact that you teach culinary skills as you go… it’s not just the recipe!
    God bless you and your family and all the very best in 2022!

    Reply

    • Natashas Kitchen
      January 3, 2022

      Thank you so much for sharing that with me, Aileen! I’m so happy you enjoyed that! Happy New Year!

      Reply

  • Natasha
    December 23, 2021

    Hi Natasha, how long can the layers last without being frosted? I made them yesterday for Christmas, but by evening, I got sick. Looks like I won’t be able to make it to the Christmas party, but I hate for all my effort to be for nothing. Can I still frost them in a few days?

    Reply

    • Natashas Kitchen
      December 23, 2021

      Hi Natasha, You can make the layers ahead of time. If you can keep them dry (no humidity), they will last for several days. I’ve never maxed it out, but maybe 3 to 5 days would probably be safe. They become like dry cookies that soften with the cream and are lovely. You wouldn’t want to package them up while they are still warm or the enclosed moisture could cause issues.

      Reply

  • Arla
    October 21, 2021

    Hi. I’m wondering if I could use almond flour in making this. What’s the measurements? I want to use low GI substitute for my pre-diabetic husband. Thank you!

    Reply

    • Natashas Kitchen
      October 21, 2021

      I haven’t tested this with GF/ Almond flour so you’ll have to experiment. I also searched the comments and no one has tried making it gluten free yet.

      Reply

  • Amy
    August 7, 2021

    Hi Natasha,
    I had already decided to make a chocolate cake (with a different recipe) but then decided to add your frosting recipe to make it into a Spartak cake for my kids and Russian husband. It was easy and delicious! It seems like this recipe is hard to find because it wasn’t in any of my Russian cookbooks. I think your recipe is so much better than other recipes on the internet that use cool whip (gross) or require cooking the sour cream into a custard (too much work). Thank you as always! I love your recipes.

    Reply

    • Natasha's Kitchen
      August 8, 2021

      Thank you Amy, I apprecaite what you said, glad you liked my recipe.

      Reply

  • Nadia
    July 6, 2021

    Just finished making the cream but as soon as I add the heavy whipping cream to the rest of the mixture it becomes runny and looks like there is clumps but to the taste is fine. Why could it be turning runny after I combine the stiff heavy whipping cream?

    Reply

    • Natashas Kitchen
      July 7, 2021

      Hi Nadia, are you using heavy whipping cream? Also, please make sure the cream cheese is at room temperature and not warmer to help it keep its shape. You can place it in the fridge for a little while and try again. I hope that works!

      Reply

  • Tanya Agapov
    June 9, 2021

    I love your recipes! They are so easy to follow. I learned how to bake from you! Thank you for your thorough instructions! I have baked Spartak cake following your recipe, at least 15 times in the past year for every party and everyone loved it!

    Reply

    • Natashas Kitchen
      June 10, 2021

      Aww, that’s the best! Thank you so much for sharing that with me. I’m all smiles

      Reply

  • Mia
    December 7, 2020

    Every time I have made the frosting for this cake it ends up with little chunks of butter or cream cheese I am not sure which, this usually happens after even I have creamed the butter prior to adding the sweetened condensed milk. I have made sure that both the butter and the cream cheese are at room temperature, leaving them out for practically the whole day. What is the problem? I have tried making this frosting 2x

    Reply

    • Natasha
      December 8, 2020

      Hi Mia, that can happen sometimes with over-mixing, but also can happen if the sweetened condensed milk was cold. I have had that happen before and it won’t be noticeable in the finished cake (since it’s covered with crumbs), or affect the flavor.

      Reply

  • Anna
    November 4, 2020

    Hi Natasha,
    I was wondering why is my frosting so runny Everytime I make this cake? Even after I add the whipped heavy cream.
    I noticed when I beat the cream cheese in, that’s when it becomes runnier. What can I do differently?

    Thanks for all your hard work!

    Reply

    • Natashas Kitchen
      November 4, 2020

      Hi Anna, are you using heavy whipping cream? Also, make sure the cream cheese is at room temperature and not any warmer to help it keep its shape. You can place it in the fridge for a little while and try again. I hope that works!

      Reply

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