Recipe
🍰 DESSERT
Tinginys
A no-bake chocolate log of crushed biscuits set in a cocoa-butter mixture, sliced to reveal a mosaic, a Lithuanian classic.
Lithuanian · easy · serves 12
prep 20 min · cook 5 min
~221 cal · 4g protein · 21g carbs · 15g fat · 2g fiber · 18g sugars · 10g sat fat (estimated, per serving)
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Tinginys, whose name literally means lazy or sluggard, is the most laid-back dessert in Lithuania, a no-bake treat so easy it is named after the effort it does not require. It is the sweet Lithuanian children learn to make first, and adults never stop loving.
Broken biscuits are folded into a warm mixture of cocoa, butter, and sweetened condensed milk, then rolled up tight in paper and chilled until firm. Sliced across, it reveals a mosaic of pale biscuit pieces set in dark chocolate, like a salami of sweets. Rich, chewy, and utterly simple, it appears at every birthday and gathering.
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Make it yours
✓ Naturally vegetarian and egg-, nut- and pork-free. No swaps needed.
Toggle a diet and the ingredients rewrite themselves with regional substitutes.
🥕 Vegetarian
🌱 Vegan
🌾 Gluten-Free
🥛 Dairy-Free
🥜 Nut-Free
🥚 Egg-Free
🐖 Pork-Free
Dietary labels are a cooking guide, not allergen-safety advice. We track dairy, egg, gluten, tree nuts and peanuts (we count coconut as a tree nut, following FDA labeling), fish, and shellfish; we do not screen for sesame, soy, mustard, celery, or sulphites. If you have a food allergy, read the label on every product you use, and note that a kitchen can cross-contaminate in ways a recipe cannot control.
Ingredients
US
Metric
Serves 12
1 lb plain biscuits, broken
3/4 cup butter
1/2 cup cocoa powder
1 can (14 oz) sweetened condensed milk
Instructions
1
Warm the butter, cocoa, and sweetened condensed milk together into a smooth, glossy chocolate mixture.
2
Take off the heat and fold in the broken biscuits until coated but still in pieces.
✎ Chef’s note
Break the biscuits into uneven chunks, not crumbs. The visible pale pieces set in dark chocolate are what give tinginys its marbled look.
3
Tip onto parchment or foil and roll into a tight log.
4
Chill until firm, then slice across into rounds.
Lithuanian home-sweet tradition.
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🌏 While it simmers, know your destination
📍
Vilnius. Cepelinai are named for their shape, a zeppelin of grated potato moulded around minced pork, boiled and then served under pork crackling and sour cream. Rye bread, forest mushrooms and cured pork carry the rest of the year, when nothing cold is wanted at all.
🗺️
Lithuania. The pink comes from beetroot but the body of the soup is kefir or buttermilk, with grated cucumber, spring onion and a great deal of dill stirred in cold. The one rule nobody breaks is the plate of hot boiled potatoes served on the side rather than in the bowl, so every spoonful is chilled and every bite of potato is not.
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Europe. Europe has written a great deal of its food into law. A regulation of 1992 created the protected designation of origin and the protected geographical indication, tying a name to a place and a method, and an EU evaluation published in 2021 counted more than three thousand registered names across those schemes, from cheeses and hams down to particular shapes of bread.
The story behind this dish is up top, worth a read while the pot works.
More from Lithuania
Šaltibarščiai (Cold Beet Soup)A shocking-pink chilled soup of beets, kefir, cucumber, and dill, Lithuania’s summer in a bowl, with hot potatoes on the side.
Kugelis (Baked Potato Pudding)A dense baked pudding of finely grated raw potato bound with egg, milk, onion and smoked bacon, browned on top and served with sour cream.
CepelinaiZeppelin-shaped potato dumplings stuffed with meat, served with bacon-onion sauce and sour cream.
Browse all Lithuania recipes →
Good to know
You’ll need: Rolling pin.
Storing it: Keep chilled and covered, and enjoy within 2 to 3 days.
Make it a Lithuania meal
CepelinaiDinner
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Cuisine
Diet
Frequently asked questions
What is Tinginys?
A no-bake chocolate log of crushed biscuits set in a cocoa-butter mixture, sliced to reveal a mosaic, a Lithuanian classic.
Where does Tinginys come from?
Tinginys is a Lithuanian dish from Vilnius, Lithuania.
Can Tinginys be made vegan, gluten-free, or dairy-free?
This Tinginys recipe includes substitution suggestions for vegetarian, vegan, gluten-free, dairy-free, nut-free, egg-free, and pork-free versions, including several at once such as gluten-free and dairy-free together. Treat them as a starting guide rather than a guarantee, and see the allergen note below.
Is Tinginys safe for people with food allergies?
Our dietary labels and substitutions are a cooking guide, not medical or allergen-safety advice. We track dairy, egg, gluten, tree nuts and peanuts (we count coconut as a tree nut, following FDA labeling), fish, and shellfish, but we do not screen for sesame, soy, mustard, celery, or sulphites. If you have a food allergy, always read the label on every product you use, and remember a home or commercial kitchen can cross-contaminate ingredients in ways a recipe cannot control.
How long does Tinginys take to make?
About 25 minutes total (20 minutes prep, 5 minutes cooking), serving 12.
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