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A blue plate piled with a stack of griddle cakes.
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4.80 / 5 votes

Griddle Cakes

These griddle cakes, also known as svele in Norway, are made with sugar, butter, kefir or buttermilk, flour, and baking soda. They are traditionally served with brown cheese, jam, or sour cream, but berries and fruit are excellent as well.
Prep Time25 minutes
Cook Time20 minutes
Total Time45 minutes
Course: Breakfast
Cuisine: Norwegian
Servings: 8 servings
Calories: 535

Ingredients

For the pancakes

  • 4 large eggs, at room temperature
  • 1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons granulated sugar, plus more for serving
  • 7 tablespoons lightly salted butter, melted, plus more for the pan and serving
  • 4 1/4 cups kefir or buttermilk
  • 5 cups all-purpose flour, sifted
  • 1 teaspoon baking soda

For serving

  • Norwegian brown cheese
  • Jam, jelly, marmalade, or preserves of any sort
  • Sour cream
  • Maple syrup
  • Fresh fruit
US - Metric

Instructions

Make the pancakes

  • In a large bowl, combine the eggs and sugar and whisk until fluffy. (Note that the fluffier the batter, the airier the resulting pancakes, although rest assured it’s not required to whisk them a crazy long amount of time. A couple minutes will suffice.) Whisk in the melted butter followed by the kefir or buttermilk. In a medium bowl, combine the flour and baking soda, add to the batter, and stir gently until combined. Let stand until the batter begins to swell, 20 to 25 minutes.
  • Heat an electric griddle on medium or place a large skillet over medium heat and lightly slick it with butter.
  • Ladle enough batter onto the griddle or skillet to make several 6-inch (15-cm) round pancakes. Cook just until bubbles appear on the surface and the bottoms are golden brown, about 2 minutes. Flip the pancakes and cook until the other side is golden brown, about 2 minutes more. Transfer to a plate and keep warm. Continue making pancakes, using the remaining batter and adding butter to the griddle or skillet as needed.

Serve the pancakes

  • Serve with brown cheese, jams, sour cream, maple sugar, fresh fruit, or butter and sugar. (You can store the leftovers in a resealable plastic bag and refrigerate for up to 3 days. Reheat gently in a cast-iron skillet over low heat.)

Nutrition

Serving: 1portion | Calories: 535kcal | Carbohydrates: 79g | Protein: 15g | Fat: 17g | Saturated Fat: 10g | Monounsaturated Fat: 5g | Trans Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 133mg | Sodium: 395mg | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 19g