Make the muffins: Preheat oven to 400F and line a muffin pan with 12 paper liners (or alternatively, grease the tins with butter). In a large bowl, whisk together all the dry ingredients (flour, cornmeal, sugar, salt, baking powder, baking soda) until combined. In another bowl, combine all the wet ingredients (buttermilk, melted butter, oil, eggs) and whisk until well-mixed. Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and with a spatula, fold everything together gently and quickly. You don’t need to go crazy mixing here and it’s actually better to err on the side of undermixing or the muffins might turn out tough. Add in the corn kernels and fold a few more times to incorporate. Divide batter amongst the muffin cups.

Bake for 15 to 18 minutes, until the tops of the muffins are golden brown and a toothpick or knife tip stuck into the centers comes out clean. Move muffin pan to cooling rack. Let cool completely.

While muffins are cooling, make the candied corn: In a small bowl, mix together salt, brown sugar, honey, and chili powder if using. Over medium-high heat, melt butter in a nonstick skillet until foamy. Add corn kernels and cook for 2-3 min until corn is tender. Add in sugar-honey mixture and toss to coat. Let cool.

And make the buttercream: Using a double-boiler or a heatproof bowl set over a pot of barely simmering water, whisk together egg white, honey, sugar, and salt until sugar is melted and the mixture thickens. You’ll need to whisk constantly here for about 7-10 min, until the mixture is hot enough that it’s uncomfortable to touch (test using a fingertip).

Remove from heat and whip the mixture until it forms stiff peaks. Add in two cubes of the butter and whip again until completely incorporated. Repeat until all the butter is used up. At some point, it will look like the buttercream is curdling but don’t worry, just keep mixing and it’ll eventually set up. Once all the butter has been added and the buttercream looks smooth, add in a dash of chili powder and mix well with a spatula. Taste a bit of the frosting and see if you want to add more chili powder.

Assemble the muffcakes: Since this is my first time frosting cupcakes, I’ll refer you to better resources instead. If you have a pastry bag, this post over on Eat, Live, Run has a great photo tutorial for frosting cupcakes. If you’re like me and don’t have a pastry bag, this post on Eat All About It has a video of a neat frosting technique. (As you can see above, I kind of winged it with a cheese knife and some improvised swirly pattern – not exactly professional but I’m still rather proud given it’s my first ever frosting attempt.)

Once frosted, sprinkle with candied corn and a little pinch of chili powder for color.

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Yield: 12 muffcakes
Time: 1.5 to 2 hours