Going for gold
In late July, Norwegian swimmer Henrik Christiansen blew up for his obsession with the Olympic Village’s chocolate muffins, making over nine TikToks raving over the sweet treat.
I replicated the recipe with chocolate muffin batter, chocolate chunks and a ganache finish. Will these Olympic muffins stand Christiansen’s rave and win the gold?
Presentation (5/5): With chocolate ganache piping and a rustic parchment paper lining, these muffins look straight out of the Olympic Village. The muffins take the medal for delivery.
Taste (3/5): A chocolate connoisseur’s dream. However indulgently rich this muffin is, you’ll surely need a napkin and a glass of water on standby.
Is it worth the hype? (4/5): Although this recipe took the most time out of all of the following recipes, the chocolate Olympian muffin is worth the payoff for those willing to invest extra love for this sweet treat.
Pack a punch
Hwachae, a Korean fruit punch, was this summer’s trending recipe. Influencer Amy Flamy sparked the traditional recipe on TikTok, fostering over 10 million views. Many TikTokers followed suit and imitated Flamy’s claims of “severe dehydration at 3 a.m.”
Hwachae is a combination of strawberry milk and a fizzy citrus soda, commonly leveled to Sprite or Korean cider, as well as a wide assortment of fruits.
Presentation (5/5): This punch is a stunning elixir of pastels for something so easy to assemble. Additionally, the ice and fruit makes for a satisfying stir.
Taste (3/5): With an unbelievable concoction of products from sprite to strawberry milk, this recipe proved my doubts wrong. However, the punch becomes hard to put down once you’ve eaten all the fruit.
Is it worth the hype? (3/5): I’d consider this recipe out of season, more fit for the pool side. Hwache is worth a try, but it’s not worth the trend.
Tossing the greens
“Sometimes you need to eat an entire cucumber,” TikTok influencer Logan Moffitt emphasizes in his various videos. Since posting his first salad in July gaining 11 million views, Moffitt fostered a cucumber revolution among the nation, selling stores out of the produce for months.
Crier tried his first cucumber salad recipe, consisting of whipped cream cheese, red onion, smoked salmon, and everything bagel seasoning.
Presentation (3/5): It’s hard to discern between the line of cream and cucumber. Perhaps it’d stun best in Logan’s iconic deli container.
Taste (5/5): The cucumber’s crunch and the smoky salmon harmoniously complement the cream cheese concoction, creating the perfect flavor profile for a wonderful refreshment.
Is it worth the hype? (4/5): Moffitt is right: sometimes you do need to eat an entire cucumber. With a wide spectrum of different recipe variations, the possibilities are endless. If you’re one for a refreshing snack that’ll just make you feel good, this salad will deliver.
Oh, I’m a gummy bear
Save your Sprite from the Hwachae for this next recipe. After influencer Kat Chao garnered over 46 million views from her Oct. 23 post, fizzling a pack of Haribo gummy bears in Sprite, TikTok was quick to jump on the bandwagon. The gummy bears expand in the fizzy soda due to a process of osmosis. From there, transfer your gummy bears to the freezer and let them sit for a few hours.
Presentation (3/5): Beyond the excitement of seeing your gummy bears expand in the Sprite, there’s nothing certainly special about the looks of this recipe.
Taste (1/5): Don’t let the first few bites of these gummy bears deceive you. While Albanese gummy bears always tastes pleasant, the inside of this treat is grainy in the mouth, a consistency only comparable to that of a crushed Orbeez.
Is it worth the hype? (2/5): A 24-hour process for an underwhelming result? This recipe let me down the most.