{"id":2200,"date":"2026-02-10T19:33:25","date_gmt":"2026-02-10T19:33:25","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/cupcake.website\/?p=2200"},"modified":"2026-02-10T19:33:25","modified_gmt":"2026-02-10T19:33:25","slug":"olympians-say-this-dining-hall-dessert-is-better-than-the-viral-chocolate-muffin","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/cupcake.website\/?p=2200","title":{"rendered":"Olympians Say This Dining Hall Dessert Is \u2018Better Than The Viral Chocolate Muffin\u2019"},"content":{"rendered":"<p> <br \/>\n<\/p>\n<div data-journey-body=\"standard-article\">\n<div class=\"css-1jx1kps etlajd3\">\n<div data-theme-key=\"collapsible-section\" class=\"css-p1fz9n e2odqo16\">\n<h3 data-theme-key=\"collapsible-header\" class=\"css-afmtqf e2odqo15\"><button aria-label=\"Hide Key Points section\" aria-expanded=\"true\" data-theme-key=\"collapsible-header-button\" class=\"css-ec8vqf e2odqo14\"><\/p>\n<div>\n<div class=\"css-4ved3l etlajd1\"><img src=\"https:\/\/www.delish.com\/_assets\/design-tokens\/fre\/static\/icons\/sparkle-regular.2aa06fe.svg\" alt=\"Sparkle Regular\" width=\"18\" height=\"18\" decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\"\/>Key Points<\/div>\n<p class=\"css-gdso8s etlajd0\">AI-assisted, editor-approved summary<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div data-theme-key=\"collapsible-icon-wrapper\" data-collapsible-open=\"true\" class=\"css-lhm19 e2odqo10\"><span data-testid=\"iconRight\" data-theme-key=\"collapsible-icon-right\" class=\"css-1ep4808 e2odqo11\"><img src=\"https:\/\/www.delish.com\/_assets\/design-tokens\/fre\/static\/icons\/caret-right-regular.a6ec664.svg\" alt=\"Caret Right\" width=\"100%\" height=\"auto\" decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\"\/><\/span><\/div>\n<p><\/button><\/h3>\n<div aria-hidden=\"false\" data-theme-key=\"collapsible-section-text\" class=\"css-nzvxqj e2odqo13\">\n<div class=\"css-ex91la etlajd2\">\n<div>\n<ul>\n<li>At the 2026 Winter Olympics in Milan, a chocolate lava cake emerged as a dining hall favorite after the chocolate muffins went viral during the 2024 Paris Games.<\/li>\n<li>Olympians, such as Canadian athletes Natalie Spooner and Courtney Saurault, raved about the dessert\u2019s melty center on social media.<\/li>\n<li>While Olympic Village food typically receives harsh criticism from athletes, initial reviews from Italy signal that the dining options for athletes are improving.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p data-journey-content=\"true\" data-node-id=\"0\" class=\"css-6wxqfj emevuu60\">It\u2019s been less than two years since the chocolate muffins at the 2024 Paris Olympics took over the Internet. And now, in Milan, a new chocolate treat is earning the gold in the 2026 Winter Games.<\/p>\n<p data-journey-content=\"true\" data-node-id=\"1\" class=\"css-6wxqfj emevuu60\">Entering the arena (aka the Olympic Village): a chocolate lava cake. This dessert takes all of the rich flavors of the chocolate muffin and gives it a melty upgrade. And, only days after the games started, it has become the star of the dining hall. Athletes have already taken to social media to give their stamps of approval.<\/p>\n<section data-embed=\"instagram\" data-lazy-id=\"P0-16\" data-node-id=\"2\" class=\"embed\"\/>\n<p data-journey-content=\"true\" data-node-id=\"3\" class=\"css-6wxqfj emevuu60\">Canadian ice hockey player Natalie Spooner, a self-proclaimed \u201cchocolate monster,\u201d gave an in-depth review of the dessert on Instagram. \u201cThis is what I\u2019ve been waiting for,\u201d she said. \u201cIt\u2019s gooey, it\u2019s chocolatey. This middle is delicious. This is hitting the spot right now, so I\u2019m gonna give this a 9.1 out of 10.\u201d<\/p>\n<section data-embed=\"watch-next\" data-lazy-id=\"P0-17\" data-node-id=\"4\" class=\"embed\"\/>\n<p data-journey-content=\"true\" data-node-id=\"5\" class=\"css-6wxqfj emevuu60\">Canadian speed skater Courtney Saurault echoed Spooner\u2019s praise on TikTok, where she filmed a close-up of the molten chocolate center. After tasting it herself, Saurault claimed that the dessert is \u201cperhaps better than the viral chocolate muffin.\u201d<\/p>\n<section data-embed=\"tiktok\" data-lazy-id=\"P0-18\" data-node-id=\"6\" class=\"embed\"\/>\n<p data-journey-content=\"true\" data-node-id=\"7\" class=\"css-6wxqfj emevuu60\">That being said, not all reviews have been positive. American speed skater Brittany Bowe commented on Instagram that the center of her cake was \u201cice cold.\u201d While other athletes\u2019 chocolate lava cakes were actively erupting, it seems like hers was dormant.<\/p>\n<p data-journey-content=\"true\" data-node-id=\"8\" class=\"css-6wxqfj emevuu60\">Some athletes may not even have the opportunity to try it themselves. So far, the dessert has only appeared at the flagship Olympic Village in Milan. Competitors staying at satellite locations, like in Cortina and Livigno, report that the cake isn\u2019t available in their dining halls.<\/p>\n<p data-journey-content=\"true\" data-node-id=\"9\" class=\"css-6wxqfj emevuu60\">The food served in the Olympic Village has long had an infamous reputation. The dining options are consistently panned by athletes, with some even describing the food as \u201cdisgusting.\u201d But in Italy, one of the culinary capitals of the world, it appears that the Olympians are changing their tune.<\/p>\n<p data-journey-content=\"true\" data-node-id=\"10\" class=\"css-6wxqfj emevuu60\">If the chocolate lava cake is any indication, we can likely expect more viral foods in Milan and Cortina this year.<\/p>\n<section data-embed=\"editorial-link\" data-lazy-id=\"P0-19\" data-node-id=\"11\" class=\"embed\">\n<aside class=\"css-fcvumo e94w1mj1\">\n<div data-theme-key=\"carousel-container\" aria-roledescription=\"carousel\" role=\"region\" aria-live=\"off\" aria-labelledby=\"PP0-19-0\" class=\"css-vzlvvm e1kgjrvy4\">\n<p><h2 id=\"PP0-19-0\" data-theme-key=\"carousel-hed\" class=\"css-4i2xvz e1kgjrvy5\"><span aria-hidden=\"true\" data-theme-key=\"title-design-element-before\" class=\"css-0 eagam8p0\"\/>More On International Food<span aria-hidden=\"true\" data-theme-key=\"title-design-element-after\" class=\"css-0 eagam8p1\"\/><\/h2>\n<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/aside>\n<\/section>\n<\/div>\n<p><br \/><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Key Points AI-assisted, editor-approved summary At the 2026 Winter Olympics in Milan, a chocolate lava cake emerged as a dining hall favorite after the chocolate muffins went viral during the 2024 Paris Games. Olympians, such as Canadian athletes Natalie Spooner and Courtney Saurault, raved about the dessert\u2019s melty center on [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2201,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[10],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2200","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-food-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/cupcake.website\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2200","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/cupcake.website\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/cupcake.website\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cupcake.website\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cupcake.website\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=2200"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/cupcake.website\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2200\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cupcake.website\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/2201"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/cupcake.website\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=2200"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cupcake.website\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=2200"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cupcake.website\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=2200"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}