By Nik, founder of 東歐嚴選｜kefir.link and former chef · Updated 2 November 2026
A svele is a small, thick, sweet Norwegian pancake, eaten warm with butter melting into it and sugar folded inside. It belongs above all to western Norway, where it has become the snack people expect on the region's ferries. Milk kefir is a standard ingredient in Norwegian versions, and its acidity is what lets the baking soda lift the thick batter.
The pancake that went to sea
Sveler come from the villages of Sunnmøre in north-western Norway, where they were an easy, filling food for feeding many people at once, ideally with coffee. Their life at sea began in 1971, when a ferry company employee brought a batch of batter to work and cooked sveler for the crew and passengers. They were an instant success and soon spread to the company's other routes, and today many Norwegians feel a ferry trip is not complete without one.
Why kefir and baking soda work as a pair
Baking soda is a base, and it needs an acid before it releases the carbon dioxide that makes a batter rise. Svele batter traditionally holds soured milk, and kefir supplies exactly that acid. With too little acid, soda can leave an odd taste and turn the cakes a yellow-green colour.
Many Norwegian recipes also add hartshorn salt, an old raising agent first made by heating deer antler. It suits thin, dry biscuits better than thick, moist cakes, where uneven baking can leave a taste of ammonia. Several well-known svele recipes use baking soda alone. Once the flour goes in, mix only until it disappears, because overmixing develops gluten and knocks out the air bubbles, leaving the cakes tough and flat.
Butter and sugar, or brown cheese
The classic filling is butter and sugar, often beaten together into a buttercream and spread over the warm svele before it is folded in half. Jam, sour cream and Norwegian brown cheese are popular alternatives. Fold each svele while it is freshly cooked, even if you plan to fill it later, because one folded for the first time after cooling tends to crack. Sveler taste best before they go cold, so bring them to the table warm with coffee.
Norwegian kefir griddle cakes (Sveler)
Ingredients
Batter
- 2 eggs
- 100 g sugar
- 500 ml plain milk kefir Use unsweetened kefir; measure with a measuring jug.
- 300 g all-purpose flour
- 1 tsp baking soda Use food-grade baking soda.
- 1 tbsp vanilla sugar
- 90 g butter Melt for the batter; have a little extra butter ready for the pan.
- butter and sugar, to serve
You will need
- Mixing bowls
- Whisk
- Spatula
- Large non-stick frying pan
- Small ladle
- Turner
Instructions
Make the griddle cakes
- Melt the measured butter for the batter, then let it cool slightly.
- Whisk the eggs and sugar until pale and fluffy.
- Whisk the milk kefir into the egg mixture until combined.
- Mix the flour, baking soda and vanilla sugar in a separate bowl.
- Gently fold the flour mixture into the egg mixture with a spatula, stopping as soon as no dry flour remains.
- Gently fold in the melted butter until evenly mixed.
- Let the batter rest for 30 minutes.
- Heat a large non-stick frying pan over medium heat, lightly greased with the extra butter.
- Cook ladlefuls of batter in rounds about 12 cm across, leaving space between them, until bubbles appear on top and the undersides are golden.
- Flip and cook until the other side is golden and the centres are cooked through. Cook the remaining batter in the same way, lightly greasing the pan as needed.
- While each svele is still warm, spread it with butter, sprinkle with sugar and fold it in half. Serve warm.
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