Halloween Milk Tea Jello Ghosts

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Halloween jello ghosts are a jiggly milk tea dessert. You heat milk with sugar and a packet of Assi Honey Ginger Tea, set it with bloomed gelatin, and chill it in ghost-shaped molds until firm. The texture lands somewhere between flan and jello, a little lighter and bouncier, and a few black sesame seeds turn each one into a spooky little face.

I made a big batch of these the first year I had ghost molds sitting in my drawer doing nothing, and they stole the whole dessert table. People could not stop poking them to watch them wobble. They are ridiculously fun, and the milk tea flavor makes them taste way fancier than how easy they actually are.

You’ve also gotta complete your Halloween dessert spread with my ghost s’mores dip and my chocolate covered strawberry ghosts.

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What Makes These Halloween Jello Ghosts So Good

The base is just milk, sugar, salt, and gelatin, so the flavor is creamy and mellow, like the best part of a panna cotta. Steeping a packet of Assi Honey Ginger Tea right into the warm milk gives it a cozy milk tea taste with a gentle honey-ginger warmth that feels perfect for fall.

Texture is the whole personality here. These set up soft and jiggly, not rubbery, so they wobble like a cartoon ghost when you carry the plate over to the table. The black sesame seeds add a tiny nutty crunch and, more importantly, the goofy little faces that make everyone laugh.

What Is the Difference Between Jelly and Panna Cotta Texture?

Jelly (or jello) is firmer and bouncier because it is set with more gelatin and usually no cream, while panna cotta is softer and more luscious from the dairy fat. These milk jelly ghosts sit right in the middle: the milk gives them that silky panna-cotta richness, but the gelatin keeps them firm enough to unmold and hold a ghost shape. Want them softer? Drop the gelatin by about a gram. Firmer? Add a gram.

How Do You Get Jelly Ghosts Out of the Molds Without Breaking Them?

Chill them fully first, at least 4 hours or overnight, because a half-set jelly will tear. When you’re ready, dip the bottom of the silicone mold in warm (not hot) water for a few seconds to loosen the edges, then gently peel the silicone back from one side instead of yanking. Invert onto a plate and let gravity do the rest. Soft silicone molds release way easier than hard plastic, so they’re worth using here.

Can You Make Milk Jelly Ghosts Ahead for a Party?

Yes, and you really should. These need to chill at least 4 hours anyway, so making your Halloween jello ghosts the night before a party is the move. Keep them in their molds, covered, in the fridge and unmold them right before serving so the faces stay neat. They hold beautifully for up to 3 days, which makes them a great low-stress addition to a bigger spread like a Halloween charcuterie board.

What Can You Use Instead of Assi Honey Ginger Tea?

The Assi Honey Ginger Tea packet is what gives these their signature milk tea flavor, but any instant tea or latte powder that dissolves cleanly will work. A black tea or chai latte powder leans classic milk tea, matcha powder makes them green and earthy, and a spoonful of honey with fresh grated ginger gets you close if you have no packets.

If you want to lean into the milk tea flavor even further, grass jelly boba in homemade milk tea uses Assam tea brewed with milk as the base, so the flavor is exactly the same style these ghosts are built on.

Tips for Making Spooky Jelly Ghosts

1. Bloom the gelatin first

Stir the gelatin powder into the cold water and let it sit 5 to 10 minutes until it looks thick and wrinkly. This step, called blooming, is what keeps your jelly smooth instead of grainy. The Kitchn has a good primer on working with gelatin if you want the why behind it.

2. Do not boil the milk

Heat the milk just until it starts to steam, then turn it down to low. Boiling can scald the milk and weaken the gelatin, so gentle heat is your friend. Once it steams, stir the bloomed gelatin in for a couple minutes until it fully dissolves.

3. Strain before you pour

Pour the mixture through a fine mesh sieve into a spouted measuring cup before filling the molds. This catches any undissolved tea or gelatin bits and gives you that glassy, smooth ghost. The spout makes filling the little molds way less messy.

4. Place the faces with tweezers

Black sesame seeds are tiny, so clean kitchen tweezers give you way more control than fingers. Arrange two eyes and a little oval mouth on each ghost once they’re unmolded.

Equipment

• Sauce pan
• Mixing bowls
• Fine mesh sieve
• Spouted measuring cups
• Silicone ghost mold
• Culinary tweezers

Storage and Leftovers

Keep unmolded ghosts in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 3 days. They are best cold and fresh, since gelatin desserts slowly weep liquid the longer they sit. Don’t freeze them: freezing breaks the gelatin and turns that smooth texture watery and grainy once it thaws.

Ingredients

Here’s everything you need for 16 little ghosts, plus a few easy swaps.

• 5g gelatin powder. Unflavored powdered gelatin is the structure here. One standard envelope is about 7g, so a scant envelope gets you close.
• 1/4 cup water. Cold, for blooming the gelatin.
• 1 1/2 cups whole milk. Whole milk is the creamiest. 2% works, and oat milk sets up nicely for a dairy-free version.
• 1/4 cup granulated sugar. Just enough to sweeten without making them candy-sweet.
• 1/4 tsp sea salt. Balances the sweetness and wakes up the milk tea flavor.
• 1 Assi Honey Ginger Tea packet. The milk tea flavor. See the swaps above if you cannot find it.
• 48 black sesame seeds. Three per ghost: two eyes and a mouth.

Instructions

1. Bloom the gelatin. Combine the gelatin powder and water in a small bowl and leave it 5 to 10 minutes to thicken.
2. Warm the milk. In a medium pot, combine the milk, sugar, salt, and the Assi Honey Ginger Tea packet over medium heat. Heat until the milk starts to steam (4 to 5 minutes), then turn the heat to low for another 3 minutes. Add the bloomed gelatin and stir for 2 minutes until fully dissolved.
3. Strain and pour. Pour the mixture through a fine mesh sieve into a spouted measuring cup, then fill your ghost molds.
4. Chill. Refrigerate uncovered for at least 4 hours or overnight, until fully set.
5. Unmold and decorate. Carefully unmold each ghost onto a plate and arrange the black sesame seeds into eyes and mouths with culinary tweezers. Serve cold.

If you make these spooky jelly ghosts, come back and leave a star rating on the recipe card below, and drop a comment to tell me how your little faces turned out. I read every single one.

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