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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).
Hi Natasha,
I have been drooling over this cake for a long time and finally decided to try it today. I am on my second attempt at the dough and it’s still yo sticky to roll even with a generous amount of flour top. I didn’t remove the tablespoon of flour from the second attempt thinking that little extra might help stiffen it a bit. Still too sticky. Any ideas? I read the comments and no one else is having this issue so I know I am doing something wrong. Debra
Hi Debra, does your dough look the same as what I have photographed? Did you make sure to use all-purpose flour and not cake flour? Did you have a chance to watch the video tutorial that I have posted for this cake? https://natashaskitchen.com/2014/10/14/chocolate-spartak-cake-video-tutorial/ It should give you a good idea of the process to see where things may have gone wrong. Also, did you make sure to let the dough rest for 20 minutes? If you don’t, it will be way too sticky to work with since it firms up as it rests. I hope that helps!
Hi Natasha, When you say “soft cream cheese” how do you judge if it’s soft enough?
Do you leave it in room temperature for a certain amount of time? Sometimes my cream turns out light and fluffy, and sometimes a little on the runny side so i’m assuming that it’s the cream cheese’s fault.
Thanks in advance!
Once my cream cheese feels soft to the poke and feels room temperature to the poke (no chill left in it), it’s ready. I don’t think it’s related to the temperature of the cream cheese. It’s more likely that maybe the butter and condensed milk need a little more beating or the whipped cream needs to be whipped just a little longer. I hope that helps! 🙂
Hi. Can I make the cake layers a day before putting the cake together?
Yes, the cake layers before they are frosted are essentially just cookies and can be left loosely wrapped in a plastic bag at room temperature for several days before assembling 🙂
Thank you
Hi Natasha on ur receipt said minus ? What’s that ? I don’t get the word ?
Minus means to take away. So take away 1 Tbsp of flour.
Hi natasha have one more question, for how along can a cake stand in the haladilink?
You can keep it in there for 3-5 days and probably even longer, we’ve just always eaten it before that. 🙂
Hi! If I was to double the recipe, do I double the time on mixing and boiling?
My Mom usually doubles the recipe and yes it is about double the time to get it warmed up.
I wasn’t going to comment because this post already received so many responses but I just had to thank you for this recipe. I got a recipe for this cake from one of my coworkers and although delicious, I would spend all day making this cake and never get those nice thin layers. Your recipe was so much easier to roll out. I made an 8 inch cake with 10 layers and used your ganache to cover the outside. It was so pretty and really tasty. Thanks so much, your recipes never fail me.
I’m so happy you did comment – it’s so encouraging! I’m so happy you enjoyed the recipe 🙂
I was considering making this cake today, and I wondered if you see any reason it wouldn’t work to use the frosting you have for medovik (with sour cream in it). I loved that frosting so much! It might not taste the same as spartan exactly, I know. It seems like it should work, but I don’t know if there is a difference in the way the cake layers are that would make a difference.
The sour cream frosting should work fine. 🙂 Sour cream and chocolate sounds good to me too!
Have you ever covered the outside of this cake with chocolate ganache? If yes what recipe do you recommend?
HI Albina, I haven’t tried it, but I think it would work well. Here is the recipe I always use when I need ganache: https://natashaskitchen.com/2014/03/26/perfect-chocolate-ganache-how-to-glaze-a-cake/
I covered the cake with chocolate ganache last time i made it and not only did it look amazing but it was delicious!
I bet it was beautiful!! If you posted a picture of it online somewhere, I’d love to see it. 🙂
How far in advance can I make the cake layers?
You can make them about 5-7 days in advance and leave them in a plastic bag at room temp. They are basically like cookies and stay good as room temp.
The recipe says I should add 1 can of milk. I live in Europe, so we use other sizes. How much is 1 can 😉
Thanks, Peter
Sorry about that. It is a 14 ounce can of sweetened condensed milk.
Does the cake have to be more cracker like or kind of cakeish… mine turned out to be more cake like.. and not sure why.. or if that’s normal
You may have just made them thinner than mine but that’s ok. Once mine cooled completely to room temperature, they were more cookie like.
Made this cake today- can’t wait till tomorrow to try it.I will have to be honest this cake was a bit fussy to make but the end of the results are amazing ❤️
It does get easier with each time you make it. 🙂 I hope you absolutely love it! 🙂
Hi, thanks for the recipe! i am trying it right now but do not understand how you roll the dough on parchment paper. The paper slips and its not working out…some tips would be appreciated 🙂
God Bless!
You might try placing the parchment paper over a wooden cutting board or thin towel or over a surface that isn’t slick like many kitchen counters.
Can I ask did you use a company to create this website or someone you know personally? It’s very professionally done? I am thinking of starting my own for Middle Eastern and Indian Recipes so wanted to know how you went about creating such a professional website?
Lidiya
We hired someone to re-design it but my husband and I built it together. This page should help you get started :): https://natashaskitchen.com/blogger-resources/
Natasha,
if this cake is made 3 nights in advance would that make the cake too soggy for the event? how much in advance would you recommend making this cake ?
thanks !
Natasha,
if this cake is made 3 nights in advance would that make the cake too soggy for the event? how much in advance would you recommend making this cake ?
thanks !
You can make the thin layers even a week in advance (keep at room temp in a plastic bag) and then frost and get the cake ready up to three days in advance and keep it chilled in the fridge. It will not be soggy. It will be very soft and yummy 🙂
have made this cake twice and everyone loved it both times…no leftover 🙁
Liya, thank you for the great review, I’m so happy to hear that everyone loved it :D.
Can I add honey to the cake batter to make it medovik?
Hi Alina, to be honest, we haven’t tried it with this cake so I’m not sure how it will affect the recipe. Have you seen my other medovik recipe that I have posted? https://natashaskitchen.com/2014/03/09/8-layer-honey-cake-recipe-medovik/
I did see the recipe but i wanted to make it chocolate also. The ingredients we’re really similar so i was just wondering. Or if i add cocoa to the medovik maybe?
You’re asking all the hard questions. ;). I haven’t tried that combination either. With baking being such a science, I’d have to experiment to see what other modifications would have to be made. If adding chocolate to the medovik recipe, you’ll have to remove some of the flour or the layers will get too tough and difficult to roll out. Without testing it myself, it’s hard to guess how much to take out, but at least 1:1 (if adding 1 Tbsp cocoa, remove 1 Tbsp flour). I hope that helps 🙂
I will stick to making the chocolate spartak then
Great choice. This is my favorite 🙂
Made this cake yesterday, came out perfect & delicious!!!
I’m so happy you loved it! thank you for the great review 🙂
Can I substitute butter with anything else?
Or make different frosting?
My Huby didn’t like butter in frosting..
To be honest I haven’t tested this recipe without the butter since it makes up a large portion of the frosting ingredients. It would have to be an experiment. Sorry I can’t be more helpful.
Dear Natasha,
I recently found you blog and I am sooooo thrill I did. Thank heavens!! and thank YOU for sharing such wonderful recipes, priceless!
Any way, I was wondering if this cake gets better (and softer) as it seats in the fridge for a day or so? On way or another I am making it next week 🙂 so I will be in touch!
Best on your pregnancy!
Annie
Thank you Annie, this type of cake does gets better and softer after being in the fridge for at least a day :). Let me know how it turns out.
That was a workout lol !!.. I had such a hard time rolling out the layers, they weren’t sticky but just hard to roll when the parchment paper is moving around . I ended up with 7 layers, no scrapes, and I was actually microwaving the dough to soften it..
What can I use to decorate it? Maybe some crushed graham crackers? Or… ? :))
Yes, crushed graham crackers would work perfectly! You can also add shaved chocolate if you wish, but graham crackers are the easiest and will taste great! 🙂 I wish there was an easier way without the parchment paper sliding around. My mom has amazing non-stick counters and it works for her to just roll it right onto the countertop, but mine are granite tile so I found parchment paper to be the easiest without tearing during transfer.