I never thought a chocolate muffin would be an Olympics star, but thanks to a rave review from a swimmer, the muffins from the Olympics Village catering have their own fan club. And good news! Chef Danielle Sepsy shared a copycat recipe. I tried it and her muffins are so good! The recipe calls for pudding mix, so it's a little controversial, with people on social media insisting French bakers would never bake with that. Probably true, but it worked in those muffins. I'm definitely keeping that recipe, but I also have a new jumbo muffin recipe that does not call for pudding mix.
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Jumbo Size Double Chocolate with Ganache
Like Chef Danielle's, these are jumbo and very rich. The recipe is based on my old chocolate pound cake, but I "thirded" it, used sour cream, and adjusted the leavening agents and liquid. Danielle's recipe included an optional fudge filling. I used the Ultimate Chocolate Cupcakes recipe trick of putting a quick ganache on top before baking. The ganache doesn't completely sink in, it just sits on top. I suppose if you wanted to throw on a ganache after baking you could, but I kind of like the baked on ganache.
Olympics Chocolate Muffin Copycat Texture
The sour cream in the batter makes the crumb so soft. Here's a texture shot. They look a lot like chocolate cake, because they are. But their sweetness level and density is muffin-like.
Here's another one from after it cooled.
Recipe
Giant Chocolate Muffins
Equipment
Ingredients
Ganache Topping
- 2 tablespoons heavy cream (56 grams)
- 1 oz chopped chocolate or 3 tablespoons chocolate chips (56 grams)
- ½ tablespoon powdered sugar
Muffin Batter
- ⅔ cup all-purpose flour (90 grams)
- ⅓ cup unsweetened Dutch process cocoa powder (40 grams)
- ¾ teaspoon baking powder
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- ¼ teaspoon cinnamon and/or espresso powder (optional)
- 6 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened (85 grams)
- ¾ cup sugar plus a tablespoon (165 grams)
- 1 large egg plus 1 egg yolk (70 grams) -- approximately
- 1 ½ teaspoons vanilla extract
- ½ cup sour cream (120 grams)
- ½ cup semisweet chocolate chips or chunks
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 400°F. You are going to start the muffins in a very hot oven and then turn it down to 325° F. after the first 5 minutes. Line 6 jumbo size muffin cups with paper liners.
- Also, bring all ingredients to room temperature including the sour cream. You can let everything sit out for an hour or do it quickly. To bring eggs to room temperature, dunk them in warm water for about 30 seconds. To bring sour cream to room temperature, you can use whatever method you like. I heat it on a very low setting of the microwave for 20 or so seconds just so it's not ice cold. The butter should be extremely soft, especially if you are beating the batter together by hand.
Easy Ganache Topping
- Make the ganache first. In a little custard cup or ramekin, heat the cream in the microwave just until it starts to boil. Add the chopped chocolate or chips and let stand for 5 minutes. Stir until smooth, then stir in 1 tablespoon of confectioners' sugar. Set aside to cool and thicken somewhat
Muffin Batter
- In a medium size bowl, whisk together the flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, salt, espresso powder and cinnamon (if using). Whisk until very evenly blended, then set aside.
- In a mixing bowl, using an electric mixer or by hand, beat the softened butter with the sugar until blended. Don't try to whip too much air into it, just beat until creamy. Beat in the egg, the yolk and the extracts.
- Add the flour mixture to the egg mixture and stir until about halfway blended, then add the sour cream and stir until batter is smooth and silky.
- Stir in the chocolate chips.
- Put the batter in the muffin tins, dividing evenly. Now spoon a teaspoon or so of the ganache on top of batter.
- Set your timer for 5 minutes. Bake the muffins at 400 degrees F. for 5 minutes, then reduce the heat to 325 and bake for another 20 minutes. Let cool for about 10 minutes, then carefully remove from the muffin tin.
Sue says
I’ve been thinking about those muffins too. Is the recipe you tried first the one that was in The Washington Post? I only saw the headline and didn’t click on it so I don’t specifics.
Your recipe of course sounds delicious and fun. It’s sort of fun to read some of the athletes reaction to the ones in Olympic Village. While the swimmer who made them famous obviously loves them others aren’t as impressed. Just goes to show how different we all are!