Using leftovers...

From the Peanut Butter Tortes I made just a few days ago, I had a lot of the mousse and some ganache left over. SO! Never one to let things go to waste... I decided to make some cupcakes to fill and ice with the leftovers.

Mocha Chip Cupcakes (from The Best of Fine Cooking: Sweet Cakes)

4.5oz unbleached AP flour
0.5tsp baking soda
0.25tsp table salt
4oz unsalted butter @ room temp
1C granulated sugar
2 large eggs
1.5tsp vanilla extract
3oz unsweetened chocolate, melted and cooled slightly
2tsp instant espresso powder, dissolved in 0.5c cool water
0.25lb semisweet chocolate chips

Sift flour, baking soda and salt.
Beat butter until smooth, then slowly add in sugar. Beat until light and fluffy. Don't forget to scrape the bowl!
Beat in eggs one at a time. Scrape the bowl after each addition. Beat until batter is smooth.
Add vanilla and melted chocolate; Beat until smooth and blended.
Add the dry ingredients and espresso. Alternating - in 5 additions - starting and ending with the dry ingredients. Mix after each addition just until the batter is smooth.
Stir in the chocolate chips by hand.
Evenly portion and drop spoonfuls of batter into baking cups (standard size). Don't smooth the batter.
Bake in preheated oven at 350 for 20-22 minutes, until cupcakes spring back when touched.
Let cool in tin on rack for 5 minutes, then remove and let cook on rack completely.

To finish:
Cut out the centers to make space for the filling - keep the top (aka the hat) intact to put back on.
Ice with frosting as desired.

Notes:
I realized that my espresso powder isn't the instant kind - so it obviously didn't dissolve in the water. But I used it anyways, and so the cupcakes didn't have a strong coffee taste. It tasted like watered down coffee, or a piece of gross coffee flavored candy.
I may have overbeat the batter since it was incredibly fluffy, almost mousse like.
And they didn't rise much in the oven. Hmmmmmmmm.
I was only able to ice 2 cupcakes since that was all the ganache I had left. (I whipped the ganache as opposed to a poured/spread)

I still have a good amount of the PB mousse left. Maybe next I'll make whoopie pies to fill?