A popular specialty from Northern France and Belgium, a merveilleux is a flawless marriage of textures: Two light and crisp meringues, sandwiched together with whipped cream, and then generously covered with chocolate shavings. This bakery staple is a fun project to recreate at home—and is perfectly suited for romantic occasions, too.
Glamorous Beginnings
While this delicate little pastry was born in Belgium, its exact date or place of creation is difficult to locate. It is, however, almost certain that the name “merveilleux,” literally meaning “marvelous,” references the French “Merveilleuses,” a fashion movement of aristocratic Parisian women during the French Directory (1795–1799). The Merveilleuses were known in Paris for their luxurious and decadent way of life, in which they threw extravagant balls and wore daring outfits, big feathers, and wigs.It was pastry chef Frédéric Vaucamps who truly built the fame of the merveilleux in the late 20th century. In 1982, he opened his first pastry shop in the town of Hazebrouck, in French Flanders, and started to work on perfecting his merveilleux recipe. Fifteen years later, Vaucamps opened his first (of many) Aux Merveilleux de Fred, a shop to give his now-signature dessert a place of its own to shine. In the early 2000s, the chef opened new locations in Europe, including Paris, London, and Brussels, and even a New York location in 2015.
