Great direction. Let's try this:
- More energy: rotate the fragmented bits slightly clockwise
- Balance the rotation by moving the blast to the left and emphasize the direction of the blast on the left side to show it moving that direction.
- Declutter: take out the smoke
- Something overlooked was most of these designs look like cupcakes instead of muffins. Try a light pink background with a brown muffin.
- Experiment with a couple different typefaces. Like the Deco font, but maybe try something more like the classic Chevrolet - something evocative of the era these come from:
http://www.danchuk.com/images/Medium/1055_m.jpg and
http://www.ascenderfonts.com/font/harlow.aspx