Double Chocolate Muffins like in the Olympic Village in Paris

Did you know that this Olympics not only breaks records in sports, with amazing arenas against the backdrop of the world’s most beautiful monuments and an incredible atmosphere that Olympic fans worldwide rank as one of the most enjoyable in history? It’s also breaking culinary records! But not in the expected way. 🙂

Sure, Paris is one of the most culinary cities in the world, no need to expand on that. But in the Olympics, one item served in the dining hall of the Olympic Village went viral. The dining hall, managed by Sodexo, feeds thousands of athletes daily and is open 24 hours a day to allow every athlete to maintain their nutritional schedule.

A few days ago, Norwegian swimmer Henrik Christiansen posted a video on TikTok where he rated the food served in the Olympic Village dining hall. Dishes like pesto pasta, gyozas, and dumplings received various ratings, but the chocolate muffin received a score of 11 out of 10 and the word “INSANE” alongside it.

The video quickly went viral, and the swimmer earned the nickname “Muffin Man.” Naturally, after the swimmer announced to the world that the muffin was the most important event in Paris, athletes became slaves to the trend, and social media was flooded with videos of athletes from around the world biting into chocolate muffins.

In reality, it’s just a simple chocolate muffin, rich with chunks of chocolate—not exactly the pinnacle of French culinary art, but the ingredients used in France probably make even a simple muffin better than one in Norway. 🙂

So let’s join the Olympic celebration and make chocolate muffins loaded with dark and milk chocolate chunks, and an upgrade from me: a surprise chocolate ganache inside the muffin that makes it even richer and more chocolaty.

Double Chocolate Muffins like in the Olympic Village in Paris
Muffin pan (8-10 large muffins)

Ingredients
Surprise Chocolate Ganache Cubes (prepare a few hours before):
90g heavy whipping cream
100g dark chocolate, chopped 

Double Chocolate Muffin:
270g all-purpose flour
70g cocoa powder, sifted
5g baking powder
5g baking soda 
pinch of salt
200g brown sugar (I use Muscovado)
120g eggs
100g canola or sunflower oil
180g sour cream, crème fraîche, or Greek yogurt
80g whole milk
40g espresso drink
10g vanilla extract
200g dark and milk chocolate chunks mix

Preparation
1. Preheat the oven to 220°C (425°F). Line a muffin pan with paper liners or parchment paper.
2. Surprise Chocolate Ganache Cubes: In a small saucepan, bring the cream to just below boiling point, remove from heat, and pour over the chocolate. Wait about half a minute and then slowly start mixing with a spatula until you get a shiny ganache. Pour into a small pan lined with cling film and refrigerate.
3. Double Chocolate Muffin: In a large bowl, mix the dry ingredients: flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and sugar.
4. In a medium bowl, mix the wet ingredients: eggs, oil, sour cream, milk, espresso, and vanilla extract.
5. Pour the wet ingredients into the bowl with the dry ingredients and mix well using a whisk or hand mixer until you get a uniform batter.
6. Add 2/3 of the chocolate chunks to the mixture and mix. Cover with cling film and set aside for about 25 minutes.
7. Remove the ganache from the fridge, cut into cubes or rounds equal to the number of muffins.
8. Fill each muffin liner or parchment paper with muffin batter, embed a ganache cube in the center, and sprinkle the rest of the chocolate chunks on top.
9. Bake for about 5 minutes at 220°C (430°F), then lower the temperature to 180°C (355°F) and bake for another 15-18 minutes, until the muffins are puffed and firm to the touch.
10. Remove from the oven and enjoy while the muffins are still warm.

And a bonus tip! How to make homemade paper liners for huge muffins:

Bon Appétit,
Sharon