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.
2. Beat together 1 egg and 1 cup sugar with a whisk attachment of your stand mixer (medium speed, 6 min).
3. Add 4 Tbsp softened butter, warm milk, and baking soda. Mix on medium/high speed 3 min, until smooth (or mostly smooth).
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.
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.
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.
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.
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!!
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.
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.
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.
3. Use a rolling pin to crush the baked cake scraps you set aside (again, another good way to re-use that parchment paper!).
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).
It cleans up nice! 🙂
P.S. Do you know this cake as Spartak or Napoleon? It seems there are some differing opinions out there.
Chocolate Spartak Cake Recipe
Ingredients
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).
Natasha Kravchuk
Hi! I'm Natasha Kravchuk. Here you'll find delicious, trusted recipes with easy step-by-step photos and videos. 
Oh my goodness gracious! This cake should be classified in the criminal section! It’s turned out SOOOO good I can NOT even begin to explain. But let me tell you one thing, me and my husband devoured the whole thing in a matter of 3 days. I know, I know, we have no self control what so ever and you are partly to blame for this problem. I would ask you to stop posting such amazing recipes but that would be like asking for the sun to stop shining! We LOVE YOU! Keep doing whatever it is that you do, you are amazing!
Wow that has to be the best review I’ve ever received on a recipe. It made me laugh. Thanks so much for your feedback! 🙂 That’s alot of cake in 3 days. lol. I’m sure I could do the same thing if I made it for my husband and I. I’m always taking my cakes somewhere after making them for that very reason. ha ha. I’m so happy you loved the cake 🙂
Hi Natasha,
I was wondering if I can make the cake layers a week in advance? And if yes, should I store in an airtight container?
Yes, airtight container at room temperature. It doesn’t even have to be airtight. It could be a plastic bag. Just make sure they are cooled completely before putting them in anything.
Tried this cake at a cell group and Totally Loooveeeeed it!!! THank u so much for ur recipes. Cant wait to make it now! 🙂
How awesome!! It is a good one isn’t it? Please thank the baker for me, for spreading the spartak cake love 😉
Hi Natasha! I have a question I just made spartak and my cream looks weird a little watery.. I did everything as it says in the recepie.. Do u happen to know why? Thank you!
The key is to beat it long enough. Did you beat it for the full 7 minutes? It stiffens up as you beat it longer.
which one should i try first to make this one or the original or your (moms) ? several girlfriends coming over and can’t choose which one to make.
honestly they are equally amazing! It depends on if you prefer the taste of chocolate 🙂 For friends, I’d make the chocolate one because it looks just slightly prettier with the contrasting colors, but truly they both taste equally good!
Thanks Natasha , my lil sis (well she’s 16 🙂 ) made it for my birthday and everyone absolutely loved it !! But making one is not an option for my little family my husband can eat half of the cake himself instead of having dinner . So question : if I double the recipe is it still 10 min for paravaya banya or should I increase time ?
Thank you,
Lilya
It might take 15-20 minutes even because a larger amount of dough will take longer to heat up. I’m so glad you enjoy the cake 🙂
Thank you , it turned out great .
Yes! I’m so glad you enjoyed it 🙂
the best tort ever, thank you soooo much Nataliya!!!!!!!
Hello Natasha,
First of all, thank you so much for sharing your lovely recipes with all of us! I have already tried some from the salad and dinner menu and they were great. Second of all, I would like to apologize in advance for such a lengthy email/post.
So here it goes. I decided to make the Spartak cake for my husband’s birthday barbecue. It seemed simple enough which is always a good thing with an 11 month old crawling at your feet. 🙂 Well, let me tell you, it didn’t go as well as the dinner and salad options went. haha!
I was so excited to make this and followed the recipe exactly. Everything was turning out great until I had to roll out the cake’s. First, the dough was so sticky there was no way I could have rolled it regardless of how much flour I used. Then, when I finally stretched them out using my, very floury, hands I baked them to the stated time. When they came out they were nearly impossible to get off, even if I let them cool. One actually was so ruined I just broke it up to use for potential crumbs. Well, if I’m honest, all of them are pretty much ruined. haha! I’m just cheep so I decided not to scrap them but see what I can do with them tomorrow morning…that will probably an adventure in itself 🙂
So I have two questions for you 🙂 What on earth did I do wrong?! (I measured everything perfectly, or so I thought. haha) Second, are the cakes suppose to be more crunchy or soft once cooled? I had both, haha (this tells you of how horrific this baking night was)
Anyway, I know this cake has a great tasting potential (I was able to try some of my ruined circle :)) but I really want to know what I could have done wrong before I attempt it again. I would really appreciate a response if you find a second. Thank you!
Warmly,
Lira
Hi Lira! Ok, lets trouble shoot this because this cake truly is delicious and I don’t want you to miss out on it! I’m sorry it didn’t go well for you tonight. First question: What kind of flour did you use? It will make a difference in proportions whether you used American All-purpose or Canadian flour. Any other ingredients you may have changed?
Next, step #5 is very important: “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.” Did you follow that step exactly?
Did you use parchment paper (not wax paper)? Parchment paper is the best non-stick surface I can think of and it really shouldn’t stick to it. The layers should be soft on teh top when they first come out of the oven so be careful not to touch the tops or you will leave finger indentations. As they cool, they should be more like cookies.
I think I really need to do a video tutorial on this cake.
I hope that helps! Let me know if you have any other questions. thanks for writing in!
-Natasha
Thank you for responding! I used and all-purpose flour (American) and I did EXACTLY as step 5 stated. It was probably just a bad baking night…I’m going to attempt it again today…I don’t give up (even though last night I was really feeling like throwing in the towel, haha)! thanks again for sharing and responding!
Blessings!
Lira
Hi Natasha, I was wondering if you think it would be okay to use spartak cream as frosting? I want to bake this cake for my daughter’s birthday and would like to decorate it as opposed to just sprinkling it with crushed scraps. Do you think I can use the cream for decorating or need a separate decorating frosting? Please advise. Thank you in advance.
You could use the frosting to decorate the cake. I hope you LOVE it as much as we do!
Okay, thanks! I will try doing so and hope it comes out good. Just need to think of how I want to decorate now 🙂 I would need to add some color to the frosting I think.
Although I had some trouble when making this cake, it is absolutely delicious! Thanks, Natasha, for the recipe! 🙂
I’m glad you enjoyed it! Which step did you struggle with?
So my dad has been on my case that I never bake anything for my family, well nothing “special”. So I needed a quick cool recipe to impress pops, and once I stumbled upon this recipe my mouth began to water cause I always remember eating it at weddings, so I was set on making this beautiful creation. SO GRATEFUL for your awesome directions and pictures, which helped me a lot! The cake turned out awesome, and my dad ended up taking half of it with him to work (he’s a truck driver). Called him the other day and he said it’s already demolished! haha sorry for this super long comment but thank you so much. 🙂
Awesome :D, I have a feeling that your dad would like you to bake for all of his trips. Great job Lisa.
thank you so much for the recipe..i did this cake and it turned out amaziiing!!:) loved it!
You’re welcome. This is one of our families favorites!
Hey Natasha do you think I can mix the chocolate spartak with the white layer spartak?? Or do you think it will taste funny? Because I think it would be a pretty cake on the inside.
Thanks
I think it would be beautiful to mix the two; a little more work, but it will be lovely and probably taste amazing!
Natasha. Is it ok not to use cocoa, and to have white spartak?
Absolutely! Here’s the white spartak recipe
I tried this recipe the other day for a dessert, after dinner for some friends. It turned out beautifully and just perfect the first time. One guy said it was the best cake he has ever eaten and wants to make it for his wife. Thank you so much, I will definitely have to do it again since I barely got a taste everyone gobbled it up 🙂
Oh that’s so awesome! Thanks for sharing that with me. 🙂
Thank you for the recipe,I made for my cousin B-Day three cakes but this one fly away so fast…yummy and not too difficult to make it.
I’m so happy you liked the recipe!! Thanks for letting me know 😉
I just had a question about the baking soda do you add vinegar to it? Because my husbands aunt gave me a recipe and it does! Another thing I want to tell you is that I love your website it’s so helpful and the picture are the best. You are amazing, talented cheif. Thank you again.
Thank you so much Donna. 🙂 I know exactly what you are talking about and I do that with some recipes, but this cake doesn’t need that step 🙂 Good question!
Natasha I made this cake few days ago. My family really liked It thank you for sharing the recipie. Mine didn’t look as brown, should I put another spoon of cocoa in it next time I make it. Also I want to make sure I did cream correctly mine tasted buttery I thought I mixed heavy whipping cream a little too long. Is the cream supposed to taste like butter?
It can taste buttery if you overbeat the whipping cream. Was it buttery after it was soft and ready to eat?
Yes it did.it was still really good though. I’ll just be more careful with heavy whipping cream next time. I think I ruined it when I combined cream. Should I just gently fold it in the cream with a spoon?
It’s so easy to overbeat heavy whipping cream and Yes, you want to fold the creams together with a spatula. 🙂 I’m glad you still enjoyed it.
I used salted butter in the cream.. Is it going to taste bad in the cake?
You should taste it to see if it needs a little more sugar but it should still taste good even if it is salted butter although unsalted butter works better
I used salted butter on the cream, is it going to be bad in the cake??
I made this cake for easter and took it to my husbands family dinner and everyone (which there’s a lot of btw) loved it. It was gone so fast 🙂 I loved how soft it turned out!!! Your recipes never disappoint me 🙂 thank you!!!
What a wonderful review. Thank you. I’m just tickled that you all enjoyed it so much!
Hi. Is it possible to substitute the butter in the cream with something else, to have a less buttery taste?
This is the best frosting I’ve tried for this cake, but you can make it with other frostings; I just can’t recommend a specific one without trying it.
Natasha, I was wondering, do you ever use cake flour for your recipes? Do you think it’ll be a good idea for this cake?
I don’t think cake flour would work; it’s too fine and you want your finished cake layers to be like thin cookies. You can use Canadian flour but I wouldn’t go with cake flour.
This cake is the bomb! We had a little get together last week and I made this cake and everyone loved it!! Its quite the process though, but in the end it is all worth it! Thanks for your awesome recipe!
You are welcome Nastia, I’m glad everyone loved it :).
I made this cake and it was delish!! I did substitute half of the the butter in the filing for some mascarpone cheese and it was amazing.. I was wondering if you had a recipe for a Medovik cake, russian (honey cake) ?
I don’t have that recipe but my friend Olga at Olgasflavorfactory.com has a good recipe. Hope this helps.
ok great thank you. but for some reason im not able to Open Olgas site, its saying the page is dangerous, does she have an alternate site??
this is the link I use – http://www.olgasflavorfactory.com/ and it works fine.
Hi Natasha wanted to say I recently got introduced to your website and it is amazing!!! I was looking for a russian website that had American measurements and yours was the jack pot 🙂 I was wondering I am in love with this cake and Im making a double portion of it but had an idea what if I make one portion of the Vanilla Spartak cake and this cake. In the end make two cakes but with mixed korji do u think that would be delicious? lol
Oh my gosh that would be delicious and beautiful! If you can get a picture to me somehow, I’d love to see it (you can share it on facebook and tag me: natashaskitchen or tag me on instagram @natashaskitchen if you use instagram; I really want to see it!! You’re a genius.
After you put the frosting on the cake do you let it sit and absorb for a little bit??
Yes it’s best the next day but is still awesome even 4 days later 😉
natasha do you put the dough on the baking sheet with the parchment paper when ready to bake? or do you just place directly on oven rack without the baking sheet?
Either way works but it’s a little easier to handle with a baking sheet 🙂
Natasha, I have loved this cake since I was a child. Haven’t eaten it for probably 10 or 12 years. I am excited to try your recipe but I have one question: can I use fat free cream cheese for frosting? Just trying to cut down calories but do not want to sacrifice the taste or texture. Thanks in advance.
That should work fine. Let me know if it turns out how you remember it 🙂
Thanks! I will let you know!
Hi Natasha want to say thank you for posting a recipe for this cake. I baked it for New-Year and my hubby loved it. So we brought some left overs to parents and it was gone within like 5 min. And of course i had to make it again the next weekend . So thank you again.
Thanks for sharing that with me. I’m thrilled to bits (that saying doesn’t make any sense; I know) that you tried and loved it!
Natasha, I really want to make this cake. My mom bought a different whipping cream it’s not heavy, will it work or should I buy the heavy whipping cream for this cake? I never used whipping cream before so I’m not even sure how it works in creams. Thanks.
Heavy whipping cream has a higher fat content so it whips better. I haven’t tried with just whipping cream so I’m not sure how much it will change the frosting consistency. It might still work
Do you know how to make the chocolate glaze/pomadka that was mentioned above?
I’ve recently discovered that melted truffle chocolate works really well. Just melt it till it’s the right consistency (don’t mix anything else into it) and pour it over the top. It’s the same stuff I used in the chocolate truffles recipe. If it gets too warm and too runny, just refrigerate it for a minute or until it’s the right consistency.
I made “Medovik” for the New Year. This cake a bit similar in technique but very different in the ingredients content. It sounds great, thank you for the recipe
🙂
It’s on my to do list :).
Hi Natasha,
Wanted to thank you for the recipe. This is my husbands favorite cake. We used to by it at a local bakery, but now i will be making it myself. It came out so good 🙂
Sounds like it won both of you over! 🙂
Hi Natasha
thank you for this recipe i loved it made it for Christmas party my family loved it as well. It has a perfect amount of coco in the layers, and the cream is just perfect.
Thanks for the feedback. I’m so happy you all enjoyed it! 🙂
i thought you asked what kind of flour i had used but i guess that was from a previous post.. i was making the cake and my dough turned out sticky and only made 5 cookies instead of 7..not sure what i did wrong since i followed the recipe all the way.
I did not use Canadian flour in this recipe. Please see comments 29 and 31 on this post. Canadian flour measures out a little differently than american flour. Did you end up using more?
Making this cake now. All I have to do is the cream and then assemble….we shall see…so far, very happy!
My goodness, I made this cake for a pot luck dinner and everyone absolutely loved it! I had trouble rolling the dough at first, but I got used to it and it’s quite simple. I prefer rolling it on the spring mold base, there’s a lot less waste. (I still had enough cake scraps to sprinkle on my cake and to eat on the side as well!)
Making the cake does take a lot of time, but it’s rather simple to make.
True; it does take some time, but so worth it! I’m so glad you liked it.
Natasha I made this cake today for a party tomorrow, I am so looking forward to tasting the outcome!!
I would love to hear how the cake turned out 🙂
Can you make the cake layers in advance and freeze them? I’ll be making this cake next Saturday, and if I could make the layers tonight and freeze them it’d be a life (and time!) saver…
I think they’d be fine wrapped in plastic and refrigerated after they are fully cooled.
Hi Natalia,
Your Chocolate Spartak Cake Recipe looks amazingly delicious! Our Sportack family is looking forward to trying it out soon:)
Thanks!
Michael & Linda
Nice! This could be the Sportack family cake 🙂
Is it alright if i put the dough in the fridge over night and bake it in the morning?
I wouldn’t recommend it. The layers won’t roll out very well if the dough is cold.
this is a awesome recipe!!
Last time I made this cake I told myself I’m never making it again. I sat in kitchen all day (You know those days :))and dough was horrible and baking it was tough cuz I kept burning them. I even had to run to the mall after to get away but I used a different recipe. I tried your recipe this morning. Was able to make 9 layers. I’m so proud of myself 🙂 thank you!!
Yes!!! I’m so excited for you. I’ve had those days too.
Hi again! Natasha- you get me every time with your beautiful pictures and step by step instructions. So I was just browsing through your blog last night and stumbled upon this amazing cake recepe. Next thing I know I’m rolling out the dough and making cream/frosting. Turned out pretty yummy. I did have a pretty sticky dough so ended up flouring everything a lot in order to roll it out thinly. But this was my first time dealing with this kind of dough so practice makes perfect 😉 thanks.
I’m so glad it worked out 🙂 Did you use regular-all purpose or Canadian? Also, did you use a dry ingredients measuring cup and scrape the top?
Can’t wait to try this recipe – it looks and sounds amazing! Though it is quite different from my childhood favorite Napoleon, which is more of a puff pastry type dough with a pastry cream filling/frosting (the type that contains either flour or starch, thickened by cooking on the stovetop). Other countries know the Russian Napoleon cake as “Mille feuille”, although the traditional French Mille feuille recipe is served while still crunchy; Russians like to leave it overnight like the Spartak, to let the layers absorb the cream.
Let me know how it will turn out Yulia.
Hi Natasha,
So I made the layers last night and doubled the recipe to make 2 cakes for two different thanksgiving events. And I complained that I was extra frustrated with the original spartak cake, that the dough was too sticky and I couldn’t roll it out. But I must say, this chocolate recipe was a hundred times easier to work with! I was so impressed and happy! And of course I got some experience making it too. Anyway, I will assemble it tonight for dinner tomorrow and am so excited to try it in chocolate! Thank you a million for the recipe!
Also, I do not have non stick counters and definitely had a huge problem with my first attempt at this cake. But this time I used a fondant/dough mat that is sold at any craft stores like Michaels or Hobby Lobby for $10, and it worked really well!
That’s good to know Oksana, I’m very happy that you did not gave up 🙂
Awesome :). I will need to update original spartak recipe, to make it simpler.
i repinned this beauty
http://pinterest.com/pin/38913984251929315/
Natasha, i made the layers today. I’m planning to frost it tomorrow and take it to mom’s on Thanksgiving. I was able to do 9 layers aprox 9.5 inches in diameter and had a lot of scraps. I burned one of the layers, so only 8 are going in the cake. My biggest problem and frustration was that the dough was soo sticky. It felt as if i needed to add more flour. I had to sprinkle a lot of flour while rolling. I think i rerolled every piece about 2 to 3 times until i got it to be a good consistency so that it wouldn’t tear so easily. Of course, my boys didnt make it easier for me because they wanted to drive their cars in the flour:). Anyway, it’s done:).
Did you mix the flour in to the mix right away while it was still hot? Also did you use dry ingredients measuring cup and scrape off the top?
Yes and yes.
i had this same problem but i also added a bunch of flour and kept flouring everything i touched and it worked out very very well 🙂
yes i measured the dry ingredients exactly, scraping off the top, and the flour brand i dont remember because I just keep it in a big plastic container but I think its all purpose unbleached flour. its just i dont know what to bake them on
im stuck…………i started making this but dont have any parchment paper! any suggestions?
thanks
If you have a good non-stick counter, then roll the dough out on it, cut out the circle, then carefully transfer it to the back of the flat baking sheet. Or you can follow the method I use in my vanilla Spartak Cake.
Thank you, I found the parchment paper luckily. And sorry about that irrelevant second comment I made I answered some ones else question that I thought you asked me
Hi! Thank you so much for the recipe! And the pictures you posted are awesome! I made this cake with no problems. Half of it is already gone, every bite is a taste of deliciousness!
You are welcome Oksana, this cake never lasts more than a day at our house 🙂
If i double the recipe, does it need to be cooked on stem twice longer?
It usually takes twice as long just to heat it up to a nice hot temp. I think it took about 20 min when I made double the vanilla spartak cake.
Thanks:) Im making it right now for my dads birthday tomorrow!
Thank you for this cake. This is my favorite!! I was looking for spartak long time..I have a question. For frosting..I did as it said. But the last step when I added whipped cream. It turned out very watery in 1 se hec..what did I do wrong?
Did you whipped the cream before adding it?
I have a question. how many layers usually come out from the little dough you have? it seems like very little for that many layers.
thank you!
I was able to make 7 layers. They rise a little in the oven. I had them rolled out super thin. Even if you only get 6 (as someone reported getting), it will still work out great 😉
thank you, I’m very excited to try this recipe for a women’s event at our church 🙂
Natasha, I made this cake for my birthday, and it turned out perfect. I do agree that it takes good effort but really really worth it. Everyone loved the cake and wanted second but it disappeared quickly. Thanks and keep it coming.
You are welcome Inessa :). I had a same problem with cake disappearing too fast. I’m doubling the recipe next time.
Its all good 😉 i rolled it and made a cake gonna try tonight! Thanks!
I have a question. Do u really have to wait 20 minutes for the dough to be thick enough? Because Im waiting for more than 40 minutes and it is still sorta soft.. What do u think I should do?
It’s still supposed to be soft and plyable. I posted 2 pictures of the dough before and after the 20 minutes. Does it look like the second one after 20 minutes? Does it roll out?
Thank you for the recipe, I made it yesterday, it was delicious and its gone already, I see you have about 8 korji, I have no idea how u managed to make 8, I had only 6 korji and no scraps like at all, but they were a little thicker, couldnt roll them thiner. I have the last question after you sift the flour do you use scoop method to scoop the flour with measuring cup or spoon method to put the flour with the spoon in measuring cup. I know that a little difference in flour amount makes the difference too.
Thank you!
I measured using a dry measuring cup then I sifted the flour with Coco together. Did you use all purpose flour or Canadian? I used regular by Gold medal. I rolled them out pretty skinny 🙂
So you measured first then sifted, that adds a little more flour than measuring the sifted flour. I use unbleached organic all purpose flour from Costco, Canadian flour proabably is better but I prefer unbleached flour. I see yours are super thin, good job! I’ll get better each time lol, thank you!
Even of it was 6 layers instead of 7 that’s perfectly fine. It’s probably a difference in the flour. I actually didn’t use Canadian on this and it turned out great. I’m glad you still loved the cake 🙂
Thank you very much for this recipe , I made it today and it came
Came out great 🙂 will be making this cake again for my whole family
For Christmas so thanks .
Yay! I’m so glad you loved it 🙂
Thank u so much for this recipe , i made it today
It came out great , will make it again for my whole
Family for Christmas . 🙂 thank u
This cake will be my weekend project. Looks delicious.
As to your P.S., this is not a Napoleon, at least not the kind I grew up with. For my approach to Napoleon, go here {shameless plug for my blog}: http://eastofparis.blogspot.com/2010/03/homage-to-france-east-of-paris-style.html
Finally, I do like your “new” recipe box at the end of your posts.
Oh, another masterpiece!
Amen 😀
Hello Natasha, so you sift the flour then measure? or measure first and then sift?
Sift first than measure 🙂
This is one of my favorite cakes! up to this point i used the microwave instead of steam but i really want to try it your way. And i used ready made cool whip for the cream and much less butter. By the way, i’ve always wondered what’s the purpose of sifting? Thank u for the recipe:)
There are several reasons to sift flour. 1) Flour compacts during storage so sifting aerates it. 2) You might be using more flour than recipe calls for when flour is compacted. Hope this helps 🙂
This one is my fav too!! 🙂 I know it as spartak. I heard from someone that Spartak has the cocoa in it and Napoleon doesn’t. Dont know how rue that is but taste to me, is all that matters :)) luv your post!
Thank you Tina 🙂
Thank you Natasha, I love layers cakes and I make them pretty often. In my opinion Napoleon cake uses puff pastry for layers and vanilla cream with butter (more butter than in a normal vanilla cream). But maybe I’m wrong. I rely on your expertise in Russian desserts.
Love your blog and appreciate all your work.
Hello Natasha, thank you for a wornderful recipe, I was wondering what’s better to add the whipped cream topping to the frosting like you did in the original Spartak cake or to make my own with heavy whipping cream and sugar like you did in this recipe, is there difference in the taste?
Will make this cake tomorrow 🙂
Either one works awesome! I’ve tried with both and they truly are equal in taste 🙂
It is a gorgeous cake! I can just imagine all the flavors in each layer…yum! Your pictures are wonderful as well 🙂
Thank you Suzie :).
LOVE THAT CAKE!! Seriously, my mouth is watering! I know it as Napoleon.
I love this cake. yours looks so delicious. your photos are beautiful.
Thank you Nadia 🙂
My favorite cake, I use the dark chocolate coco, it adds flavor and color. For the top I pour chocolate glaze (pomadka). Good stuff…
I would have to add the glaze next time I make this cake 🙂
How do you make pomadka?
making this for the weekend:)
I can’t wait to make this!!! 🙂
This cake is one of my family’s favorite cakes… Love it.. I add hazelnut in mine. Beautiful pictures 🙂
Thank you Inessa. There was no leftovers on this one :D.
Inessa, where do you put the hazelnut? on top or in between??