Nearly two years after the chocolate muffin took over the Paris Games, a new dessert is pulling focus in Milan. Athletes are lining up for a molten lava cake served in the Olympic Village, locally known as tortino al cioccolato or tortino cuore fondente, and social media has turned it into the event’s latest obsession.
The frenzy feels familiar. In 2024, Norwegian swimmer Henrik Christiansen became the “Muffin Man” after falling hard for the Village’s gooey chocolate muffin. This time, the spotlight shifted when Canadian speed skater Courtney Sarault posted a video showing off the lava cake. It has already racked up more than 3 million views.
“THIS is the Olympic Games content we have been waiting for!” one TikToker wrote. Another person joked, “I should have tried harder at sports.”
Sarault’s video also caught an admission from another athlete watching nearby. “I eat that every morning,” he said, without a hint of hesitation.
The reviews kept coming. Natalie Spooner, a Canadian ice hockey player, posted her own rating and gave the dessert a 9.1 out of 10. “This is what I’ve been waiting for,” she said in her TikTok review. “It’s gooey. It’s chocolatey. The middle is delicious.”
Viewers were just as invested. “When you scooped that piece, I just KNEW it was gonna be good,” one person commented. Another wrote, “Looks better than the Paris muffin.”
The hype does not surprise New York bakery owner Danielle Sepsy. She was one of the people who helped launch the 2024 Olympic muffin into viral territory, and she sees the same pattern with this year’s treat. Both desserts “have a somewhat molten ganache center,” she told Fox News Digital, and both are “super rich” in chocolate. “The muffin has a fluffier texture, whereas the lava cake is pleasantly dense.”
The muffin craze became so intense that Sepsy added it to her bakery’s menu in 2024. It is still there.
As for the new lava cake trend, she says home bakers have plenty of ways to make their own version. She suggests a ganache made from spreads like peanut butter, Nutella, or tahini. Those spreads “mixed with a little powdered sugar and butter [create] a delicious and unique molten center,” she said.
Part of the appeal, Sepsy believes, comes from seeing elite athletes enjoy something indulgent. “Any molten center will stop you in your tracks, but I think there is something really human and relatable about the world’s best athletes indulging in these calorie dense treats,” she said. “They’re just like us sort of.”
And just like that, the torch has officially passed from muffin to lava cake.
