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

4.94 from 116 votes

Author: Natasha of NatashasKitchen.com

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Prep Time: 1 hour hr

Cook Time: 20 minutes mins

Total Time: 1 hour hr 20 minutes mins

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

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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).

• Full Nutrition Label
• Nutrition Disclosure

Course: Dessert

Cuisine: Russian, Ukrainian

Keyword: Chocolate Spartak Cake

Skill Level: Advanced

Cost to Make: $