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Norweign swimmer, Henrik Christensen, has made everyone crave these triple chocolate muffins from the Olympic village dining hall. I now think of them as the official Olympic Chocolate Muffins. They’re tall bakery-style chocolate muffins that have a bit of ganache in the center, a large crumb and square chocolate chunks. Delicious!
Like everyone else, I’m so into the Paris 2024 Olympics. I find the athletes so inspiring and I love watching them achieve their dreams; it’s truly amazing. But my favorite thing that has come out of some of the coverage online has been the obsession that the athletes have (mostly swimmer, Henrik Cristensen a.k.a. “The Muffin Man”) has had with these muffins!
I was craving them so much; I knew I had to make them. I did some research and I found that it’s most likely coming from this French food supplier called: Coup de Pates.
Ingredients You’ll Need for these Olympic Chocolate Muffins
- Three types of chocolate is used in this muffin: we have baking cocoa, chocolate ganache made with dark chocolate and milk chocolate chunks.
- Neutral oil. I love using oil in muffins or cakes. It adds a ton of moisture and it makes these muffins have a large crumb while also being delicious. You can use vegetable oil, canola oil or avocado oil.
- Buttermilk. This will give the muffins a super fluffy texture. I love using buttermilk.
- Instant Espresso Powder. This will give these chocolate muffins even more of a deeper, richer flavor. Instant espresso powder will really compliment the chocolate in a delicious way.
For the rest of the ingredients (and the measurements), please see the recipe card below!
How to Make this Olympic Chocolate Muffins Recipe
- Mix together the wet ingredients in a medium bowl: sugar, oil, egg, vanilla extract, salt and instant espresso powder.
2. Sift in the cocoa powder and flour.
3. Next, pour in the warm buttermilk and mix.
4. Transfer the batter to the muffin liners. And top with a few chocolate chunks.
5. While the muffins are baking, make the ganache. Warm up the heavy cream and pour it over the chopped chocolate. Let it sit for 2-3 minutes. Whisk until smooth.
6. Allow the muffins to cool for 10 minutes, just so they’re cool enough to handle.
7. Using a paring knife, remove a bit of the center. And pipe in the ganache. Serve and enjoy!
How to Get the Perfect Domed Muffin Top
The secret to perfectly domed bakery-style muffins is to bake them at two temperatures.
- Preheat oven to 350F. When the muffins go in, raise the oven’s temperature to 425F and bake for seven minutes.
- Then, turn the heat down to 350F and bake for an additional 10-12 minutes, until a skewer comes out clean.
What this does: The initial high heat gives the muffins a jolt resulting in super tall muffins. I do this trick with my Blueberry Muffins and swear by it!
Recipe FAQs
I haven’t tried it (obviously) but reports of lack of protein for athletes, undercooked meats and food that is under seasoned, makes me think that the food at the Olympics Dining hall isn’t very good. But the muffins have a great reputation lol.
In an airtight container, stored in the fridge, they’ll be good for up to a week.
I love to eat muffins with coffee like my Horchata Coffee, Mint Vanilla Iced Coffee, Pumpkin Spice Latte or Iced Matcha Latte.
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Olympic Chocolate Muffins Recipe
Video
Equipment
- 1 muffin pan
- 2 Medium bowls
- 1 small saucepan
Ingredients
Chocolate Muffins:
- 125 (1/2) grams (cup) granulated sugar
- 1 large egg
- 1/4 cup neutral oil, (such as vegetable, canola or avocado oil)
- 1 teaspoon instant coffee
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract , homemade or store-bought
- 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 (120) cup (g) all-purpose flour
- 35 (1/3) grams (cup) baking cocoa
- 150(5) ml(ounces) buttermilk, warmed
- Handful milk or dark chocolate chunks
Chocolate Ganache:
- 1 ounce dark chocolate, chopped
- 1/4 cup heavy cream
Instructions
To Make the Chocolate Muffins:
- Preheat oven to 350F. In a medium bowl, whisk together the sugar, egg, neutral oil, instant coffee, vanilla and salt. We want a smooth mixture. Sift in the baking soda and salt; mix. Next, sift in the all-purpose flour and baking cocoa. Pour in the warm buttermilk and mix one last time.
- Add four tulip muffin liners to a muffin tin. If you’re using regular muffin liners, add six! Fill up the muffin liners. Top with a handful of chocolate chunks.
- Place in the oven and raise the oven temperature to 425F and bake for 7 minutes. Bring the temperature down to 350F and bake for another 10-12 minutes, until a skewer comes out clean.
To Make the Ganache:
- While the muffins are cooling, make the ganache. Chop up the chocolate and add it to a heatproof bowl. Warm up the heavy cream and pour it over the chocolate. Let it sit for 1-2 minutes and then mix it up until smooth. Transfer to a piping bag or ziplock bag.
- When the muffins have cooled a bit, use a paring knife to remove the center. Pipe the ganache in the center each of the muffins. Serve them up and enjoy.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Another amazing recipe. Itโs rare to find a recipe where flavors are deep, rich, and on point โ Adrianna, you donโt miss with your baked good recipes. This muffin was incredible and it was extra fun to bake it while watching the Olympics. A core memory for my family and I (we love the Olympics!)
Can melted no-salt butter be used instead of oil?
sure! it just won’t be *AS* moist. i would also recommend that when you store them you place them in an airtight container. and maybe warm them up a teeny bit before you eat one!
This recipe is delightful! I even subbed applesauce for the egg since my son is allergic. It’s the best texture I’ve been able to achieve in an egg free baked good. You can’t even tell an egg is missing. The chocolate flavor is perfectly balanced. This will be my new go to!
hi! made these and was an absolute hit! was wondering though, may i sub the cocoa with dutch processed cocoa instead?
so glad you loved them! that should work just fine. i haven’t tried it but if anything they might just be a bit fluffier since the Dutch processed cocoa powder might react with the baking soda even more.
Hello,
The recipe had excellent flavor however when you triple the recipe it makes 24 regular muffins filled to the top of the muffin liners. The recipe when printed still says 12 muffins. I also found it was easier to fill the centers of the muffins with ganache with a spoon. Was a little runny for a pastry bag.
And Step 2 under the Instructions on How to Make the Muffins is a little misleading. For the tulip muffin liners, are they for the larger muffin pans since you’re only making 4 per the instructions. Also, should the oven start at 350 or 425 or start at 350 then raise to 425 for 7 minutes?
Thank you.
I made these tonight with my daughter – they are sooo good!! The only change I made is I upped the amount of chocolate in the ganache – I’m in AZ where “room temperature” is pretty warm so I wanted the ganache to be thicker.
Aww so cute. So great you loved it! Thanks for the feedback, Liz! ๐
Just made these tonight cuz we had a hankering for something chocolaty and rich. These were not only super easy to put together but also super quick! Didnโt have tulip liners so ended up with 6 muffins in regular degular foil liners. They turned out so well! The muffin coats the entire inside of your mouth so itโs a super sensory experience! Also donโt have a neutral oil so used 1/4 cup butter with 1-2 tablespoons olive oil. Another winner!
omg i love this! so glad you loved them, taina! love the substitutes you made. good call on the butter with olive oil. they taste great the next morning too! xoxo
I’ve made these twice since you’ve posted the recipe. It truly is such a great chocolate muffin recipe!
Are the cooking directions the same if you double the recipe?
yes! it should be the same exact time if you double it.
Do you use American or US cups for the flour? Alternatively, would it be possible to get a mass measurement to prevent confusion there?
Also, I’m seeing that the recipe is saying to add the salt with the oil and instant coffee, but afterwards it says to sift the salt in with the baking powder. Which is the correct step?
Hi Jeremy, Not sure what you’re asking. I’ve included weight measurements as well as cup measurements. Does that clear it up?
You have weight measurements for everything except flour
To Jeremy’s point, you say to do two completely different things with the salt:
“…whisk together the sugar, egg, neutral oil, instant coffee, vanilla and *salt*. We want a smooth mixture. Sift in the baking soda and *salt*”