A few readers have registered complaints about my tender muffin rhetoric. They claim that if muffins are tender they’re indistinguishable from cupcakes. That of course begs the question: what’s the difference between a muffin and a cupcake? Though you might not think it, muffins and cupcakes are quite different under the hood.

That’s probably the biggest question most people have about muffins: should I be going for the cone on the top or not? Experts disagree on the subject but my firm feeling on the cone is that it’s a no-no. But why?

Cone-shaped muffin tops are like domes on cake layers: they’re a sign that the batter has been over-mixed, and a sure-fire sign that you’re in for a chewy, gummy muffin eating experience.

Really, nobody has seen a muffin man — a real one — since well before World War II. Once, and we’re going back some 150 years now to Victorian England, so-called “muffin men” were common in British cities. They sold a sort of dense wheat cake that went by the name of a “tea muffin.” Those cakes were a far cry from what we in America now know as “English muffins”, and today they are entirely extinct as a food.

The hatted, bell-ringing merchants that once roamed the streets of London with flannel-draped baskets of hot muffins now only exist in children’s rhymes. As early as 1899 traditional tea muffins were on their way out in Britain and the mantle of muffin cookery was being passed to the States. Or so said Victorian-era cookbook writer Theodore Francis Garrett:

Who knew you could make every course of a gourmet meal in a muffin tin? I’d never even considered the question, at least until the publishers of this book got in touch out of the clear blue sky today. Looks like good fun, actually.

Terrific response last week to my posts on the differences between American and Continental gluten. Lost of folks wrote in asking what some of the other implications are for transatlantic baking. I didn’t have time to answer everybody (indeed I didn’t know all the answers), but it occurred to me that muffins would make an excellent illustration of the principles at work. Except this time, instead of one more example where I have trouble adapting one of their recipes, I thought a little payba— er…reciprocity might be in order.

Reader Ellie remarks that the muffin recipe below does indeed look “basic” save for one thing: the sour cream. Is it really necessary? she asks. Won’t it make the batter acidic? First, Ellie, you have a heck of an eye for ingredient lists. Second, yes, exactly. Sour cream will make the batter acidic, but that’s by design. As I’ve written before, contrary to popular belief, acids and bases need not be perfectly balanced in a batter. Granted you want to beware of a very alkaline batter since bases can combine with fats to make soaps…which can really ruin your tea time.

Reader Stuart writes in with a general alert: Beryl, an up-and-coming whoopee pie baker in Washington D.C. needs a new oven. Evidently the $8,500 beast is discounted only for a limited time, so the need for cash is urgent. If you can kick in a few bucks, I know she’d be thrilled — and you’ll get whoopee pies in return! See her Kickstarter page right here.