Nearly two years after the viral Olympic chocolate muffin craze, a new dessert is stealing the spotlight — and Olympians are even eating it for breakfast.
Social media is flooded with posts about a molten lava cake offered at the Milan Olympic Village, known locally as tortino al cioccolato, or tortino cuore fondente.
The dessert frenzy follows the 2024 Olympics in Paris, when Norwegian swimmer Henrik Christiansen’s obsession with a gooey chocolate muffin earned him the “Muffin Man” nickname.
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An Olympian named Courtney Sarault, a speed skater from Canada, posted her own video of this year’s lava cake — and it garnered over 3 million views.
“THIS is the Olympic Games content we have been waiting for!” one TikToker posted under Sarault’s video.
Another person joked, “I should have tried harder at sports.”
In the video posted by Sarault, another athlete looking on admitted, “I eat that every morning.”
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Natalie Spooner, a Canadian ice hockey player, gave the lava cake a 9.1 out of 10.
“This is what I’ve been waiting for,” the professional athlete said in a TikTok video. “It’s gooey. It’s chocolatey. The middle is delicious.”
“When you scooped that piece, I just KNEW it was gonna be good,” one viewer wrote.
Another said, “Looks better than the Paris muffin.”
Fox News Digital reached out to Sarault and Spooner for additional comment.
The viral dessert has the same appeal as the 2024 muffin, said Danielle Sepsy, a bakery owner in New York City.
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Sepsy, who helped popularize the Olympic muffin in 2024, said both treats “have a somewhat molten ganache center” — and they’re both “super rich” in chocolate.
“The muffin has a fluffier texture, whereas the lava cake is pleasantly dense,” she told Fox News Digital.
She described the muffin as a “true viral sensation,” prompting her bakery to add it to the menu in 2024 — where it remains today.
For those wanting to try making lava cake, there’s plenty of room for creativity, Sepsy said.
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She suggested making a ganache from spreads ranging from peanut butter and Nutella to tahini.
These spreads “mixed with a little powdered sugar and butter [create] a delicious and unique molten center,” she said.
The appeal of the desserts, Sepsy said, isn’t just because they’re delicious — but because of the novelty of professional athletes enjoying treats.
“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.”
