Muffins are a type of cake or soft bread, according to the Joy of Baking.com. American style muffins are made with leavened ingredients, such as baking powder or baking soda, and have a symmetrically domed top.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture National Nutrient Database indicates that a generic corn muffin made from a dry mix has 90 calories per oz. Since a large or jumbo muffin has about 5 to 8 oz. of batter, a large corn muffin from premade, dry mix can have from 450 to 720 calories.

A 5.8 oz. large muffin, made from scratch with corn meal and corn kernels at a national chain restaurant, has 490 calories. A popular supermarket brand corn muffin mix contains 170 calories per ¼-cup serving. A large muffin from the same mix can have from 510 to 680 calories.

A recipe for low-fat corn muffins by Dr. Gourmet calls for yellow cornmeal, flour, sugar, baking powder, non-fat buttermilk, egg and unsalted butter. This recipe is designed to yield 12, 2 oz. muffins at 102 calories per serving. One 5-oz. muffin from this recipe has about 306 calories.