The “CROUS muffin” of the Paris 2024 Olympics is so good that it has even been exported to the United States: here is its recipe

We certainly haven’t finished talking about the Paris Olympics. The magic has gone beyond the stadiums to reach the canteens of the Olympic village. Today it is the iconic “Olympic Chocolate Muffins” that unleashes all passions. The story begins when a Norwegian athlete, Henrik Christiansen, tastes one chocolate muffins available at the village café located in Saint-Denis.

He loves the taste so much that he posts praiseful and funny TikToks in which the muffin is the protagonist. We see him sometimes sleeping with the drawer of his bedside table full of them, sometimes with his nose dirty with chocolate, sometimes eating chocolate in front of the camera, sometimes wandering around the village with his hands full of these pastries; in short, he does a big thing: we will also call him “muffin man” for that. Faced with this all-consuming passion, other athletes decided to try it too and the popularity of this dessert spread like wildfire.

A chocolate muffin that sparks passions all the way to the United States

Saturday, August 17, 2024, a coffee pop-up store “Isshiki Matcha” marketing said that Muffin is opening in New York City. A news that brings joy to the inhabitants of the Big Apple, who also turn out to be lovers of the famous pastry. Nearly a hundred people lined up for the chance to taste this competitive muffin. Some of them even decided to line up as early as 6 in the morning, like at Tiktokeuse @reallavendermenace.

The owners of the bar have in fact imported almost 300 units of this muffin produced by the French company “Pasta Shot”. In their establishment they sell for almost $10.89 each and each person can only consume one unit. It’s almost a luxury. Fortunately, for those who don’t want to pay that amount and/or don’t live in the Big Apple, some food content creators offer their own recipes.

The recipe for CROUS des JO muffins

CROUS muffin ingredients (for 9 muffins)

For the muffins:

• 200 grams of 00 flour
• 70 grams of cocoa powder
• 3/4 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/4 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 teaspoon instant coffee powder
• 2 teaspoons salt (coarse edible salt without additives)
• 275 grams of light brown sugar
• 1 tablespoon of powdered milk + 1 teaspoon
• 100 grams of whole milk
• 150 grams of vegetable oil
• 2 large eggs
• 225 grams of sour cream
• 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
• 115 grams of semi-sweet or dark chocolate pieces, plus an extra amount for covering the muffins
• 115 grams of milk chocolate chips or pieces, plus an extra amount for covering the muffins

For the muffin filling:

• 30 grams of water
• 95 grams of granulated sugar or fine sugar
• 35 grams of cocoa powder
• 20 grams of corn syrup
• 1/2 teaspoon salt (coarse edible salt without additives)
• 80 grams of cream
• 140 grams of dark chocolate chips

Preparation of CROUS muffins

For the muffin dough:

• In a large bowl, add the dry ingredients and whisk to combine.
• In another bowl, add the wet ingredients. Whisk to combine well.
• In the bowl of dry ingredients, make a well, then add the previously mixed wet ingredients. Beat gently until the dry ingredients are well incorporated. Do not overmix.
• Using a rubber spatula, gently fold in the chocolate pieces.
• Now let the dough rest for 30-60 minutes.
• Preheat the oven to 220°C.

For the forage:

• In a saucepan, combine the water, granulated sugar, cocoa powder, salt, and corn syrup.
• Bring the mixture to a boil over medium heat, stirring as you go to avoid burning the cocoa powder.
• Once the mixture has reached boiling point, lower the heat and let everything cook on medium-low heat.
• Continue stirring until the mixture has reduced to about 1/3 of its original volume (this should take about 5 minutes).
• Add the cream and boil for another two minutes.
• Pour the mixture over the dark chocolate chips.
• Once the mixture has softened the chips, blend to combine.
• Allow to cool until ready to fill the muffins.

To cook the muffins:

• Using an ice cream scoop, spoon the batter into the muffin cups. (Each cup should be about 3/4 full – 140 grams of batter.)
• Bake for six minutes at 220°C. Without opening the oven, lower the temperature to 180°C and bake for another 15/18 minutes.
• To check if the muffins are cooked through, pierce them with a toothpick: they are considered cooked perfectly when the toothpick comes out with a few crumbs attached.
• Remove the muffins from the pan and let them cool completely before filling them.

To fill the muffins:

• Fill a piping bag with the cooled filling, then cut off the tip. Now insert the piping bag into the center of each muffin and fill them one by one.

You can also find the recipe here.