Mom's Spartak Cake Recipe

1. Beat together 1 egg and 1 cup sugar (whisk attachment, medium speed, 6 minutes).
2. Add softened butter, warm milk, and baking soda. Mix on medium speed 1 minute, until smooth.
3. Bring a medium/large pot of water to a boil. Place mixture in a glass bowl or medium sauce pan over boiling water for 10 minutes, stirring constantly (if making a double portion, do 20 minutes since it takes longer to heat up). It should just be hanging out over the steam and not floating in the water.
4. Remove from heat and immediately mix in 2 cups flour and mix well. (Don't wait to add flour or you will single-handedly destroy the cake). Let dough stand 20 minutes until it is just warm; it thickens as it cools: Note: It's easier to roll out the dough while it's still warm. While dough rests, preheat the Oven to 350°F.
5. Dust flour over your non-stick surface. Sprinkle flour over the dough as well so it wont' stick to your rolling pin. Roll out a heaping tablespoon of dough on a nonstick surface into about a 10-inch round. It should not be sticking to the surface.
6. Generously dust the base of the springform pan with flour. Place the rolled out dough over the base of the springform pan, run a pizza cutter around it. It's ready to bake.
7. Mix the scraps of dough with some fresh dough and roll it out again. Don't waste those scraps!
8. Bake at 350°F. until it turns golden (4-5 minutes). Remove cake layers from the baking pan righta way but Don't touch the top of the cake layer while its still hot, or you will indent it. Notes: do not try to trim your cake layers after they are baked; they will crack.

How to Make the cream/frosting:

1. Using whisk attachment, beat together 2 packages butter and 1 can sweetened condensed milk on medium speed for 7 minutes, scraping down the bowl as necessary.
2. Mix in the softened cream cheese 1 chunk at a time until smooth, scraping down the bowl as necessary (2-3 minutes)
3. On low speed, mix in the cool whip (or whipped cream) until well blended.

Assembling the Cake:

1. Set one cake layer aside for crumbs (or use graham crackers) - or you can mix like we did.
2. Spread a thin layer of frosting over the first layer (enough to cover the surface) and go all the way to the edges.
3. Place the next layer on top. Frost and repeat this until you finish all the layers. Frost the sides and even out the frosting everywhere. Push down the layers in between so you don't have gaps of air between your layers.
4. Crush the cake layer you set aside as well as the optional graham cracker. Generously sprinkle over the top than cup handfuls of crumbs and pat them onto the sides of the cake. Transfer to a serving dish and refrigerate overnight (it should sit at least 10 hours for the layers to soften).