It’s the most unexpected and unusual success story of the Paris 2024 Olympics. While fans’ hearts throbbed to the rhythm of the competitions and sporting feats during the fortnight, athletes also fell head over heels for chocolate muffins served in the Olympic village. Quickly going viral, these muffins sparked a real “muffin mania,” unanimously winning over the athletes.

Norwegian swimmer Henrik Christiansen was the first to praise the virtues of these pastries, to which he became outright addicted. In several humorous TikTok videos, which garnered millions of views, he loudly professed his love for this chocolate treat. Consequently, internet users, amused by his enthusiasm, quickly nicknamed him “Muffin Man.”

The “Muffin Mania” at the Paris 2024 Olympics

Among the fans, many French students recognized the muffin sold in Crous university cafeterias for less than three euros. “We have the same muffins at Crous (that’s the university restaurant in France), and they have been missing for a few months. Now I know where they’ve gone (yes, they’re so good we eat at least one a day),” one student commented.

The buzz created now has the entire internet searching for a way to taste these famous Olympic muffins, which are actually nothing more than industrially frozen muffins “sold by the box of 24,” made by the company Coup de Pâtes and distributed by Sodexo.

“It’s a maxi muffin weighing 130 grams, presented in a tulip shape for chocolate lovers, filled and topped with dark chocolate, with dark and milk chocolate ‘chunks’,” Vanity Fair reported, quoting Jacques Smith, a spokesperson for Sodexo.

What about the recipe? It’s a state secret. The Olympic Committee has requested that it remain strictly confidential.

Yet, this hasn’t discouraged the die-hards in their quest. Since then, chocolate muffin recipes have proliferated on social media, while web searches for “chocolate muffins” have reportedly skyrocketed by 1,523% during the Games, according to data from QR Code Generator. American TikToker Jordan Howlett, known as @jordan_the_stallion8, believes he has found the original recipe.

Known for uncovering and revealing the recipes and secret methods of dishes from major restaurant chains, he allegedly “spent three days and made four phone calls” to find out how to recreate the recipe of these now-coveted muffins, which are being snatched up in a New York coffee shop.

On Saturday, August 17, a pop-up store opened in New York where the “viral muffins from the Olympic village” were sold. Indeed, Isshiki Matcha café managed to import a few hundred to offer tastings to Americans, many of whom queued to buy the pastry, outrageously priced at $10.89 each (just under ten euros). Clearly, our university restaurants have talent…

The (Unofficial) Recipe for Olympic Village Chocolate Muffins by TikToker Jordan Howlett

Ingredients:

• 180ml of milk
• 60ml of water
• 2 teaspoons of instant coffee
• 50g of unsweetened cocoa powder
• 90g of chocolate
• 115g of butter
• 240g of all-purpose flour
• 1 tablespoon of baking powder
• 120ml of whole cream
• 45g of chocolate
• 1 pinch of salt
• 1.5g of salt
• 100g of brown sugar
• 100g of white sugar
• 60ml of vegetable oil
• 2 eggs
• 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract
• 60g of chocolate chunks

Steps:

1. Preheat your oven to 200°C.
2. In a medium saucepan over medium heat, add milk, water, and instant coffee. Bring to a boil while stirring.
3. Add cocoa powder to the saucepan and stir until smooth. Then, add 90g of chocolate chunks and the butter and stir until completely melted. Set your mixture aside.
4. In a separate bowl, mix flour, baking powder, and 1.5g of salt. Set aside.
5. Once your chocolate mixture has cooled, incorporate the brown sugar, white sugar, vegetable oil, eggs, and vanilla extract.
6. Add one-third of your flour mixture to your chocolate mixture until smooth. Add the rest of your flour mixture. Do not overmix. Add 30g of chocolate chunks.
7. Grease or line your muffin tins and fill them two-thirds full with your batter and sprinkle the remaining chocolate chunks on top. Bake.
8. Meanwhile, prepare your chocolate ganache. In a medium saucepan over medium heat, heat your whole cream. As it begins to boil, remove from heat and add 45g of melted chocolate and a pinch of salt. Stir until smooth.
9. Once the muffins are out of the oven, pierce them with the tip of a piping bag and fill as much as you wish with chocolate ganache. If you do not have a piping bag, you can fill the muffin by carefully cutting a small piece from the top and pouring in the filling. It’s ready!

**Voici La Fameuse Recette Des “Muffins Au Chocolat Du Crous” Qui Ont Fait Fondre Les Athlètes Des JO De Paris 2024**

This article first appeared on grazia.fr – Author: Pierre-Guillaume Ligdamis