Spartak cake

Spartak Cake is a multi-layered chocolate version of the famous honey cake, commonly known as miodownik. It’s a classic of Eastern European cuisine, particularly popular in Ukraine and Russia, and is often described as a “lighter cousin” of Medovik. Instead of purely honey-based layers, Spartak combines honey with cocoa, giving it a slightly deeper flavour. The layers are thin, delicate and beautifully absorb the cream, resulting in a soft, harmonious and aromatic cake. Traditionally, Spartak is filled with a custard-based sour cream and butter frosting. In my version, however, I chose to use a cream inspired by the Polish layered cake Marcinek – it’s lighter, wonderfully smooth and so velvety that it’s hard to stop at just one slice.

There’s no need to worry that the cocoa will overpower the cake; in Spartak, the gentle honey note remains the leading flavour, creating a beautifully festive combination. Although the cake looks impressive and time-consuming, it’s surprisingly straightforward and enjoyable to prepare, and you’ll likely find all the ingredients in even a small local shop. Spartak Cake can be decorated with chocolate or nuts for an extra festive touch and added depth of flavour.

The recipe below is my own version and not a traditional one. Those used to baking many separate thin pastry layers may be surprised, as my method differs significantly. I based it on my favourite honey cake recipe, combined with the cream from Marcinek. The cake doesn’t need to mature for several days – it’s ready to serve the next day after chilling in the fridge.

Makes 10 layers + 1 extra layer for crumbs; approx. 13 cm tall.

Ingredients for chocolate honey layers:

• 350 g honey
• 160 g sugar
• 200 g butter
• ¼ teaspoon salt
• 2 teaspoons bicarbonate of soda
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 6 large eggs
• 400 g plain flour
• 50 g cocoa powder

All ingredients should be at room temperature.

Place the honey, sugar, butter and salt in a saucepan. Heat, stirring, until the mixture comes to the boil and the ingredients have dissolved. Once the mixture starts to rise and foam, immediately remove from the heat, add the bicarbonate of soda and cinnamon, and mix thoroughly. Set aside to cool slightly, stirring from time to time (the foam created by the bicarbonate will continue to rise). The mixture should be cooled but still pourable before proceeding.

Meanwhile, draw 11 circles (23 cm diameter) on baking parchment. Prepare 2 baking trays.

Add the eggs (whole) to the cooled honey mixture and mix until combined. Sift in the flour and cocoa powder directly into the bowl and mix until smooth. The batter will be quite runny but will thicken quickly. Spoon a heaped ⅓ cup of batter (about 125–128 g) into the centre of each drawn circle and spread evenly with a palette knife (it’s best to turn the parchment over so the pencil marks don’t transfer to the cake). Place two layers at a time onto the prepared baking trays.

Bake at 180°C for about 6–7 minutes (do not overbake, or the layers will become hard), baking two trays at once on different oven levels. Remove, cool, and repeat with the remaining layers – 11 in total. Crumble one cooled layer (a food processor works best). Set aside – the crumbs will be used for decoration.

Ingredients for the cream filling:

• 1200 ml double cream, chilled
• 400 g soured cream or crème fraîche, chilled
• 150 g icing sugar (or to taste)
• 1 teaspoon vanilla sugar or 1 teaspoon vanilla extract or paste

Place the double cream, sour cream and icing sugar in a large mixing bowl. Whip until thick and stable (note: this takes quite a long time, even with a stand mixer – be patient, it thickens gradually). Add the vanilla at the very end of whipping.

On a cake stand, layer the cooled cake layers one by one, spreading each with approximately 145 g of cream. Once all layers are assembled, cover the top and sides with the remaining cream and smooth evenly. Sprinkle the sides and top with the reserved crumbs and decorate as desired (for example, with fresh raspberries).

Chill in the fridge and serve the next day, after several hours of refrigeration. Store Spartak cake in the fridge.

Enjoy!