Name: French Meringue Dessert Merveilleux
Total time: 3 h 30 min
Yield: 20
Cuisine: French
Ingredients: 2/3 cup + 2 1/2 tbsp (200 g) egg whites; 2/3 cup + 3 1/2 tbsp (200 g) granulated sugar (see note #1); 1 1/2 cups + 5 tsp (200 g) powdered (icing) sugar; 1 capsule of coffee Ristretto (see note #2); 3 cups + 4 tbsp (750 g) heavy cream, 30% fat; 1/3 cup (75 g) granulated (caster) sugar; 5.3 oz (150 g) Trader Joe's dark chocolate (see notes)

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If you run to the kitchen right now, I will not blame you: this meringue dessert Le Merveilleux is to die for! It is a crunchy meringue sandwich filled with a layer of whipped cream and covered with chocolate chips. Simply, it is a white sugar cloud of deliciousness.

French meringue dessert Merveilleux with a fork on a dessert plate.

Have you ever seen a line to get into a pastry shop in the 21st century? Does this really ever happen? Yes, there is a unique place with heavenly meringues in Paris. It is called “Aux Merveilleux de Fred”.

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Aux Merveilleux de Fred
Is there a Merveilleux recipe?
Why this meringue dessert recipe works
How to make Merveilleux
Expert Tips
More delicious cake recipes you will love
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This is the place where you can try the original Le Merveilleux (pronounced "mair-vè-y-eu" in French), meaning 'wonderful' or 'marvelous' in English.

Aux Merveilleux de Fred

The first impression of Aux Merveilleux de Fred visitors tasting Merveilleux, a "delicious fusion of meringue and cream," is that it was to die for. As per the customers, it is a "totally addictive meringue cake. You start, and the only way to stop is when it is all gone."

This meringue dessert typically doesn't survive beyond 10 minutes from the time it was purchased; it is usually eaten inside the pastry shop or a few steps outside of the bakery.

Merveilleux originated in Belgium. In 1985 the French confectioner and chocolatier Frederic Vaucamp brought an old classical dessert back but added a large variety of flavors.

Since 1997 the chef has opened seven sweet boutiques in Paris, also all over France, in London, Brussels, Berlin, Geneva, and New York. Some of his locations have an open floor plan where customers can see each step of making these meringues.

Is there a Merveilleux recipe?

There is no doubt that I made a few attempts to find Frederic Vaucamp's original recipe, but it is a well-kept secret to this day.

I was lucky enough to find another version of the recipe created by the Belgian chocolatier, the World champion Pâtissier (1995), Pierre Marcolini. He describes his Merveilleux as "a very modern cake, the marriage of crispness and mellowness..."

I made some changes to the recipe to make it work in a home kitchen. I increased the amount of ingredients for the whipped cream while omitting 25 ml of cold coffee Ristretto as per Mr. Marcolini.

Actually, I found that adding liquid coffee to the cream makes it harder to assemble the meringues since the cream becomes more liquid.

Moreover, I replaced the chef's recommended Pacari Ecuadorian chocolate Los Rios with Trader Joe's dark chocolate. And you will need many more chocolate chips to wrap the meringues than the original recipe recommends!

Merveilleux cut into bite pieces with a fork and a dried rose on a grey plate

Would you like a new birthday party idea? Just make a batch of meringues Merveilleux and serve them on a large serving platter!

This is the second year when my son asked me to make these cute cakes for his birthday. I ended up with eighteen meringues Merveilleux, each with a candle on top. As you can imagine, every year brings an additional cake with a candle :).

Why this meringue dessert recipe works

Easy meringue-based recipe results in a heavenly delicious dessert.
Making numerous cakes serves as a great birthday party idea.
Rolling meringues in white chocolate chips, pink chocolate curls, or chopped Pink Praline makes beautiful and tasteful ideas for Valentine's Day, Mother's Day, a baby shower party, or a wedding.

How to make Merveilleux

Preheat oven to 195°F (90°C). Draw circles 2.5 inches (6 cm) on parchment paper. Turn the paper over so that the circles are facing down.

To make the meringue, open a capsule of Ristretto and place ground coffee aside. Using an electric or stand mixer, beat egg whites (at room temperature), gradually add granulated sugar, and whisk till the meringue becomes glossy (photo 1).

Once egg whites are set, add powdered (icing) sugar and ground coffee and mix with a rubber spatula (photo 2).

Photo 1: Meringue in a bowl Photo 2: Meringue mixed with icing sugar and ground coffee in a bowl — **PHOTO 1 PHOTO 2**

Place the meringue in a pastry bag with Ateco plain pastry tip 806 and pipe small spirals/rosettes onto drawn circles (photo 3). Bake meringues for 2 hours. Turn off the oven and leave the meringues with the door closed for another one hour (photo 4).

Photo 3: Meringue spirals on parchment paper Photo 4: Baked meringues on parchment — **PHOTO 3 PHOTO 4**

To make the sweetened whipped cream, whisk cold heavy cream, gradually adding granulated sugar. Use an electric mixer to whip the cream until stiff (photo 5).

Pro tip: Refer to the French Chantilly cream recipe for step-by-step photographed explanations, helpful tips, and tricks.

To assemble sandwich meringues, pipe the whipped cream on the meringue rosette. Finish with another meringue on top, placing it upside down (photo 6).

Photo 5: Ready Chantilly cream in a bowl Photo 6: Meringues sandwiched with the cream held in hand — **PHOTO 5 PHOTO 6**

Garnish the edges (photo 7) and cover the top (photo 8) of sandwiched meringues with the cream. Smooth their sides and top using a bent spatula. Place meringues in the freezer for about 10 minutes before rolling them in chocolate chips.

Photo 7: Meringue with smoothed edges on a marble board Photo 8: Meringues covered with the cream on a wooden board — **PHOTO 7 PHOTO 8**

To make chocolate chips, scrape a chocolate bar with a large knife, or a vegetable peeler or use a mandoline slicer. Place chocolate chips in a large dish. Roll each meringue sandwich in chocolate chips (photo 9), except the bottom (photo 10). Refrigerate.

Photo 9: Chocolate chips with the meringue in a glass dish Photo 10: Meringues Two Sandwich Meringue Merveilleux on a marble board covered with chocolate chips on a wooden board — **PHOTO 9 PHOTO 10**

Expert Tips

Process granulated sugar in a food processor for a few seconds to make superfine sugar. It dissolves quicker and easier while whisking.
Replace 1 capsule of coffee Ristretto with 1 ½ teaspoon (5 g) of your favorite ground coffee.
Prepare meringue rosettes one day in advance and store them in an airtight container at room temperature.
Make about 12.3 oz. (350 g) of medium-sized chocolate chips to facilitate rolling the meringues.
Roll meringues in white chocolate chips, pink chocolate curls, crumbled speculoos, crispy crepes gavottes, chopped Pink Praline, or nuts to play with tastes and flavors.
If you want to add a tangy note, hide a raspberry inside while assembling the meringues. This version is far from the original recipe, but there is always a place for experimentation.
Whisk 1 cup (230 g) of heavy cream with 1 ½ tablespoon (23 g) of granulated sugar until medium peaks and decorate the top of each meringue cake with a swirl of the whipped cream, using an open star pastry tip.
Serve the dessert right away to keep the crispiness of the meringues since the longer you keep the assembled cakes, the softer the meringues become.

Watch the video of how the meringues Merveilleux are rolled in chocolate chips at “Aux Merveilleux de Fred” in Paris.

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French Meringue Dessert Merveilleux

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5 from 26 reviews

Meringue dessert Merveilleux is a crunch meringue sandwich filled with a layer of whipped cream and covered with chocolate chips. Simply, it is a white sugar cloud of deliciousness. It is a dessert to die for!

Author: Irina Totterman
Total Time: 3 hours, 30 minutes (plus resting time)
Yield: 20 1x
Category: Cakes
Method: Baking
Cuisine: French

Ingredients

Scale

For the coffee meringue:

⅔ cup + 2 ½ tablespoon (200 g) egg whites
⅔ cup + 3 ½ tablespoon (200 g) granulated sugar (see note #1)
1 ½ cups + 5 teaspoon (200 g) powdered (icing) sugar
1 capsule of coffee Ristretto (see note #2)

For the sweetened whipped cream:

3 cups + 4 tablespoon (750 g) heavy cream, 30% fat
⅓ cup (75 g) granulated (caster) sugar

For the decoration:

5.3 oz (150 g) Trader Joe's dark chocolate (see notes)

* If needed, please refer to Baking Conversion Charts.

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Instructions

Preheat oven to 195 F/90 C. Draw circles 2.5 inch/6 cm on parchment paper. Turn the paper over so that the drawing is facing down.
To make the meringue, open a capsule of Ristretto and place ground coffee aside. Using an electric or stand mixer, beat egg whites (at room temperature), gradually add granulated sugar and whick till the meringue becomes glossy. Once egg whites are set, add powdered (icing) sugar, ground coffee and mix with a rubber spatula. Place the meringue in a pastry bag with Ateco plain pastry tip 806 and pipe small spirals/rosettes onto drawn circles. Bake meringues for 2 hours. Turn off the oven and leave the meringues with the door closed for another one hour.
To make the sweetened whipped cream, whisk cold heavy cream, gradually adding granulated sugar. Use an electric mixer to whip the cream until stiff.
To assemble sandwich meringues, pipe the whipped cream on the meringue rosette. Finish with another meringue on top, placing it upside down (flat side up). Garnish the edges and cover the top of sandwiched meringues with the cream. Smooth their sides and top using a bent spatula. Place the meringues on a board and cover the top of each meringue with the cream. Place meringues in the freezer for about 10 minutes before rolling them in chocolate chips.
To make chocolate chips, scrape a chocolate bar with a large knife or a vegetable peeler or use a mandoline slicer. Place chocolate chips in a large dish. Roll each sandwiched meringue in chocolate chips, except the bottom. Refrigerate.

Notes

Process granulated sugar in a food processor for a few seconds to make superfine sugar. It dissolves quicker and easier while whisking.
Replace 1 capsule of coffee Ristretto with 1 ½ teaspoon (5 g) of your favorite ground coffee.
Prepare meringue rosettes one day ahead and store them in an airtight container at room temperature.
Make about 12.3 oz. (350 g) of middle-sized chocolate chips to facilitate rolling the meringues.
Roll meringues in white chocolate chips, crumbled speculoos, crispy crepes gavottes, pink chocolate curls, chopped Pink Praline, or nuts to experiment with tastes and flavors.
Whisk 1 cup (230 g) of heavy cream with 1 ½ tablespoon (23 g) of granulated sugar till medium peaks and decorate the top of each meringue cake with a swirl of the whipped cream, using an open star pastry tip.
If you want to add a tangy note, hide a raspberry inside while assembling the meringues. This version is far from the original recipe, but there is always a place for experimentation.
Serve the dessert right away to keep the crispiness of the meringues since the longer you keep the assembled cakes, the softer the meringues become.

Nutrition

Calories: 245
Sugar: 27.5 g
Sodium: 29 mg
Fat: 13.8 g
Saturated Fat: 8.8.g
Carbohydrates: 29.4 g
Fiber: 0.3 g
Protein: 2.5 g
Cholesterol: 43 mg

The nutritional information has been calculated using an online recipe nutrition calculator such as Verywellfit.com and is intended for informational purposes only. These figures should be used as a general guideline and not be construed as a guarantee.

The recipe was adapted from https://www.femmeactuelle.fr. It was originally published in May 2018. The recipe has been revised to include improved content and photos. All posted pictures are mine.