These ghosts made of Thai coconut agar agar are the cutest little treats for Halloween! They are quick and easy to make, and taste great. Best of all, they are solid at room temperature, making them the perfect addition to your next Halloween party!
Since having kids, holidays have taken on special meaning for me. I can't let a holiday or birthday pass without some sort of special celebration. For Halloween this year, I have been baking up a storm for my kids' school festivals and bake sales and am knee-deep in planning my son's Halloween class party.
In between all of this planning and baking, I can't help but think of Thai desserts that could be Halloween-ified. I've come up with several ideas, the easiest of which are these cute little ghosts made of coconut agar agar.
I used agar agar to make this Coconut and Pandan Agar Dessert years ago. The agar acts like gelatin to form a Jell-O-like dessert that keeps its shape at room temperature. To turn this dessert into ghosts, coconut milk was the obvious choice. The coconut agar mixture is then simply poured into ghost molds for a scary good Halloween treat!
What is Agar Agar?
Agar agar is kind of like the Thai equivalent of Jell-O. It is a clear powder made of red seaweed extract that works like gelatin to turn liquids into solids. Agar agar differs from gelatin in two important ways, however:
- Agar agar is not made from animal products, making it a great choice for vegan desserts.
- Agar agar solidifies at room temperature, making it ideal for desserts that need to be transported or served without refrigeration.
You can find agar agar powder at Asian markets, or you can buy it online. To use it, simply add the powder to cold water and stir until it's incorporated. Then turn on the heat and bring the mixture to a boil. Once it has come to a boil, turn it down and let the mixture simmer for about 5-10 minutes until it's completely clear. Add your flavorings and then pour it into a mold or dish and allow to solidify on the kitchen counter. The resulting dessert is similar to Jell-O, but with a firmer, more brittle texture.
Ingredients
- Agar Agar Powder: As detailed above, this seaweed extract solidifies liquids at room temperature. One tablespoon of agar agar powder per 2 cups of liquid is all you need.
- Water: You want to cook the agar agar powder in water (or another clear liquid) so that you can see if it has dissolved completely before adding other opaque ingredients such as coconut milk.
- Coconut Milk: Coconut milk provides a nice white color for these ghosts.
- Sugar: Half a cup of granulated sugar makes these ghosts nice and sweet.
Instructions
These coconut agar ghosts are so quick and easy to make. Follow the instructions here to make them with ghost-shaped molds.
Pour water into a saucepan. Add the agar agar powder and sugar to the water and stir until incorporated.
Turn on the heat and allow the mixture to come to a boil. Then turn down and let simmer until the liquid is clear.
Turn the heat off. Add the coconut milk and stir until incorporated. Pour into ghost molds and allow to solidify.
Once the ghosts are solid, gently push them out of their molds. Use food gel to paint on spooky (or not so spooky) faces.
Useful Tips
- Allow the Agar to Come to a Boil: The agar agar powder is activated by boiling, and may not set properly if you don't allow it to come to a full boil. Once it has come to a boil, you can turn it down and allow it to simmer until completely dissolved. Be sure to check that you can't see any more powder in the mixture before adding the coconut milk to it.
- Cookie Cutters are a good Alternative to Molds: This recipe will make enough agar mixture to fill approximately 24 small ghost molds. Because it sets at room temperature, you will need to use all 24 molds at once. If you don't have that many molds, you could alternatively pour the agar agar mixture into a thin layer on a baking sheet and use a ghost cookie cutter.
- Paint the Faces on Right Before Serving: I painted faces on these cute little ghosts using black food coloring gel and a paintbrush. Edible black markers also worked, but weren't quite as black as the food coloring. However, the paint will begin to bleed on the wet agar after about 1 hour. To keep your cute little ghosts from looking too spooky, I'd suggest painting the faces on right before serving.
Recipe
Coconut Agar Ghosts
Equipment
- Clean Paint Brush
Ingredients
- 1 Tablespoon agar agar powder
- 1 cup water
- 1 cup coconut milk
- ½ cup granulated sugar
- black food coloring gel
Instructions
- Add 1 cup of cold water to a small saucepan. Then add the agar agar powder and sugar and mix until both are incorporated.
- Turn the heat to high and bring the mixture to a boil, stirring constantly. Once the mixture has come to a rolling boil, turn the heat down to medium-low and allow the mixture to simmer for 5-10 minutes until the liquid is completely clear.
- Add the coconut milk and mix until incorporated. Then pour into ghost molds and allow to solidify at room temperature. Once they are firm, slide out of the molds. Use food coloring gel to paint on spooky faces right before serving.
Notes
- This recipe will make enough coconut agar to fill approximately 24 small ghost molds, or one 9" x 13" baking dish, if you opt to use cookie cutters.
- The food coloring gel will start to bleed after about 1 hour, so be sure to paint it on right before serving.
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