Whether you’d be willing to call yourself a “sports person” or not, it’s impossible to deny the fierce energy coming from the Olympics. This year’s Paris Games are no different – from gymnast Simone Biles’s powerful performance, which added three gold medals to her collection, to exciting new categories like breakdancing, and a renewed prioritization of mental health.
Outside of the competition stage, however, an unexpected MVP has emerged in the Olympic Village: a double chocolate chunk muffin. Over the past week, we’ve caught countless videos of athletes drooling over the dining hall’s selection of pastries – and notably, one long-distance swimmer who brought the dessert to our attention. And in the eyes of chronically online foodies, this fudgy treat is poised to take home the gold.
What’s Behind the Chocolate Muffin Hype?
The world at large had yet to learn of the “choccy muffin” before July 25, when Norwegian marathon swimmer Henrik Christiansen shared his rave rating (11 out of 10, by the way) in a TikTok video. From there, the prophetic treat took over as the athlete posted increasingly unhinged (and shameless) videos centered around the chocolatey muffin, to which he attributes an almost godlike status.
@henrikchristians1 Guys, I think I have a problem.. #fyp #olympics #paris2024 #olympictiktok #olympicvillage #muffins @Olympics @paris2024
No matter how good it actually tastes, we’ve got to admire his unfaltering commitment to a bit. (And as a reminder, Christiansen isn’t just here for the chocolate muffins – it’s his third time attending the Summer Games after previously appearing in Tokyo and Rio.) The Norwegian swimmer and self-proclaimed “muffin man” seemingly isn’t the only top athlete obsessed, as a quick scroll will yield countless TikTok videos of similar reviews from fellow Olympians and their families.
Online, recipe developers compete for their best recreation of this treat. Chef Danielle Sepsy, for one, believes a packet of Jell-O pudding mix best matches the Olympic muffin’s rich flavor. The dedicated Jordan Howlett (@Jordan_The_Stallion8), however, claims he made four phone calls to track down the official recipe – which, as he explains, includes a decadent ganache filling created with heavy cream. Conversely, Kassie of @ibakemistakes argues that freezing the muffins is key to nailing the exact texture.
Over on Reddit, we see anonymous commenters crowdsourcing their own and recommending vegan-friendly swaps. One user suggests Trader Joe’s muffins as an easy dupe in one thread, while another pleads for a Bay Area version to satisfy their wife’s intense pregnancy cravings. Sweet.
The Basics of the Viral Olympic Chocolate Muffin
Olympic Village meals are managed by Sodexo Live!, a French event services company that offers catering, and the hyped muffins appear to arrive from a company called Coup de Pates. (They’re shipped frozen in quantities of 24, FYI.)
It doesn’t appear you can buy these jumbo chocolate muffins stateside, and the company unfortunately hasn’t yet shared an official recipe online. PS reached out to Sodexo Live! for comment (and perhaps some sneaky hints on the recipe) but didn’t immediately receive a response.
Nonetheless, here’s what we know for sure: this muffin includes a rich chocolate batter, chocolate chunks, and a thick filling (which, evidently, remains viscous enough to make a mess in Christiansen’s TikTok videos). Per the Olympic swimmer’s videos, it’s also roughly double the size of your typical homemade muffin and encased in a color-coordinating wrap.
We’re always game to taste-testing viral recipes, so PS dug through internet sleuths’ recreations to compile one single approach to this decadent muffin. We’d have to credit recipe developers and creators @Jordan_The_Stallion8, @ibakemistakes, Danielle Sepsy, and Rose Bakes for their recipes, which all included varying degrees of difficulty and time commitment. Which leads us to our final disclosure: while the process behind this delicious muffin is well-worth the time, you should prep your top-class cooking skills and block a chunk of your cal for this one.
Will this muffin leave you kicking your feet and giggling on TikTok, à la the Norwegian swimmer? You’ll have to tell us.
Nicolette Baker is a freelance writer living in Brooklyn, NY. Her expertise lies primarily in food, drink, and fashion media, but she enjoys covering all aspects of lifestyle with an accessible approach. She’s written for Food & Wine, Byrdie, Business Insider, VinePair, and Flourish.
Olympic Chocolate Muffin Recipe
Original Recipe
Ingredients
- Batter:
2 cups flour
½ cup brown sugar
½ cup granulated sugar
½ cup pudding mix
1 teaspoon instant coffee powder
1 tbsp baking powder
½ tsp salt
¼ cup semi-sweet chocolate chunks
¾ cup of milk
¼ cup water
1 stick of butter
¼ cup neutral oil (like vegetable or canola)
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla
- Filling:
½ cup sweetened condensed milk
½ cup semi-sweet chocolate chunks
Directions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F.
- In a saucepan on medium heat, heat up the milk, water, and instant coffee. Add cocoa powder, butter, and ½ cup of chocolate chunks. Remove from heat and set aside to cool.
- In a separate bowl, combine flour, baking powder, and salt.
- In another bowl, add the heated chocolate mixture, both sugars, oil, eggs, and vanilla.
- Slowly fold the dry flour mixture into the second bowl. Then, stir in ½ cup of chocolate chunks.
- Separately, to create the ganache filling: in a saucepan, combine the condensed milk and chocolate chunks and place on low to medium heat. Stir regularly. Once the mixture reaches a smooth consistency, remove from heat and cool before piping into the muffin.
- Pour the batter into a greased muffin tray and bake for 17-24 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean. Let cool for at least 15 minutes before piping with ganache.
- Finally, we’d recommend popping the fully-cooled muffins into the freezer overnight for the most authentic texture. Bon appétit!
Information
- Category
- Desserts, Pastries
