Pastry

Merveilleux

These desserts… you guys… they’re one of my favorites. When I was living in Paris and wanted a little snack, I would go to Aux Merveilleux de Fred and get a mini-sized one to munch on. Just 1.50€ and so much joy!!! Two rounds meringue with some well-whipped cream in between and on the outside, then rolled and tossed and sprinkled with all sorts of toppings… mostly shredded chocolate. Like light sweet sugar clouds, and surprisingly not overly sweet, the perfect balance of creamy with a slight slight crunch. YUMMM!!!!

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Merveilleux

Learn how to make individual French meringue cakes at home with this Merveilleux recipe straight from my pastry cookbook.

Merveilleux is one of my favorite French desserts. When I was living in Paris and wanted a little snack, I would go to Aux Merveilleux de Fred and get a mini-sized one to munch on. Just 1.50€ and so much joy!!!

What makes them so delightful? Two rounds of meringue with some well-whipped cream in between and on the outside, then rolled and tossed and sprinkled with all sorts of toppings… mostly shredded chocolate. They’re like light, sweet sugar clouds, and surprisingly not overly sweet, the perfect balance of creamy with a slight slight crunch. YUMMM!!!!

The Merveilleux recipe I’m sharing today is from my cookbook (pg 175), French Pastry Made Simple. Available everywhere books are sold 🙂 For a more in-depth explanation including meringues fixes (like what it means if they crack!), then check out the Meringue chapter (pg 169).

We did this Merveilleux recipe as a live bake-along back in December 2021. You can still view the replay here if you want even more tips for making this merveilleux cake recipe at home: https://www.instagram.com/p/CXwKcGilRV3/

Reprinted with permission from French Pastry Made Simple by Molly Wilkinson, Page Street Publishing Co. 2021. Photo credit: Joann Pai

What is a Merveilleux in French?

The French word merveilleux translates to wonderful or marvelous in English. And that’s truly the perfect name for Merveilleux cake! These small cakes originated in Belgium and can now be found throughout France.

Merveilleux consists of a sandwich of two light meringues held together with thick whipped cream. The sandwich is then covered in more whipped cream and dusted with chocolate shavings or other toppings, like chopped nuts or even crushed cookies.

These cakes are a wonderful dish for a party because they are small and perfect to pick up and eat (much like a cupcake, except even more special!). My Merveilleux recipe makes 15 individual-sized cakes, but you could also make two big rounds of meringue to make one, show-stopping cake!

Merveilleux Ingredients

One of my favorite things about this French dessert recipe is that while these look beautiful and intricate, the ingredient list is actually super simple. Here’s everything you need:

Egg whites: Make sure to use egg whites separated by hand, not from a box or a carton. Eggs are the key ingredients in meringue and pre-packaged egg whites just don’t work the same.
Granulated sugar: Whip your egg whites with granulated sugar (and powdered sugar) to make the meringue. The granulated sugar slows down how quickly the proteins in the egg whites coagulate, making the meringue more stable and less likely to collapse.
Powdered sugar: You need powdered sugar both for the meringue and for the whipped cream frosting. This adds a gorgeous sweetness and texture to both.
Heavy cream: Use heavy cream or heavy whipping cream and be sure it’s very cold before making the whipped cream frosting. This will ensure it thickens properly.
Vanilla extract: This extract adds a delicate sweetness and flavor to the whipped cream frosting. You can buy it from the store or use my guide to make homemade vanilla extract.
Mascarpone (or cream cheese): Use full-fat mascarpone or cream cheese at room temperature so it can be easily incorporated into the frosting. This adds a richness and thickness to the whipped cream, which is key to the structure of the merveilleux cakes.
Toppings: You can get creative with merveilleux toppings, but shaved chocolate is most traditional. I also like to use high-quality chocolate sprinkles, crushed cookies or finely chopped nuts.

How to Make Merveilleux At Home

Making this merveilleux recipe at home is pretty simple, although no one will think it was easy when you present them with this beautiful dessert!

French merveilleux recipe for meringue cake

Step One: Preheat your oven to 200°F (90°C). The meringue needs to bake low and slow.

Step Two: To make the meringue, add the egg whites to the bowl of a stand mixer with the whisk attachment. If you don’t have a stand mixer, you can also do this step in a bowl with an electric hand mixer. Whip the egg whites on medium speed until they resemble foam.

Step Three: Increase the speed to medium-high and very slowly add in the granulated sugar, about a tablespoon at a time. Keep whipping until it forms stiff peaks. This can take as long as 10-15 minutes, so don’t stop too early!

Step Four: Once the egg whites are fully whipped, sift the powdered sugar over the egg whites and fold gently to combine. I recommend doing this in two batches of powdered sugar. You want to keep as much air as possible in the egg whites.

Step Five: Using a piping bag with a large round tip or large opening, make 30 swirls of meringue on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. The swirls should be about 2 to 2 ½ inches in diameter. If you don’t have a piping bag, simply spoon the meringue onto the baking sheet and smooth with the back of the spoon.

Step Six: Bake the meringues for 2 hours. When the timer goes off, turn off the oven but don’t open it right away. Leave the meringues in the oven for at least 1 hour to cool.

Step Seven: While the meringues are cooling, make the whipped cream icing. Whip together the cream, powdered sugar, vanilla, and mascarpone at medium-high speed until it’s very thick. This will be thicker than a traditional whipped cream because you need it to maintain its shape (and hold on those very important toppings!).

Step Eight: Assembling is the last step of this merveilleux recipe. To assemble the merveilleux cakes, put about 1 tbsp of cream on top of a meringue disk and sandwich another disk on top. Do this with all of the meringues to make 15 individual cakes. Then use more whipped cream frosting to ice around the sides. You can pop the whipped cream into the fridge as often as necessary during assembly if it’s starting to lose its structure at all.

Step Nine: Roll or sprinkle with toppings and then chill the finished merveilleux for about 30 minutes to firm up before serving.

Tips for Making This Merveilleux Recipe

While merveilleux cakes are pretty simple to make, it’s always good to have some pastry chef-approved tips in your back pocket! Here are some of my favorites:

Merveillux doesn’t need to look perfect! Each one will look slightly different and that’s just part of what makes them special! Feel free to get creative and add toppings you like – not just what is traditionally used.
Serve the cakes in cupcake liners for a party. This way they can easily be picked up and eaten by hand! Just make sure you keep them chilled for as long as possible before serving so they don’t get too messy.
Use a vegetable peeler to shave your chocolate to top the cakes! While you could do this with a food processor or grater, I love doing it by hand with a veggie peeler. It’s a much easier clean-up and creates beautiful, rustic shavings.
Put the bowl of your stand mixer and your whisk in the fridge or freezer before making the whipped cream. This helps ensure your frosting whips perfectly by keeping it cold during the process.
You can make the components of merveilleux in advance, but it’s best not to assemble them until the day you plan to enjoy them. Otherwise, the meringue might get soggy and lose that perfect little crunch.

Make French Merveilleux Cake at Home

Ready to tackle this classic French dessert in your kitchen? Get the full recipe below! And be sure to tag me when you post about your version of this dish. You can find me on Instagram and TikTok.

Looking for more meringue recipes? Try some of these other favorites from my website:

Or, check out my Ultimate French Macaron course to not only perfect your meringue but your macaron technique, too!

Merveilleux

Makes 15 individual sized cakes, or you can make two big rounds to make one big cake!

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Ingredients

For the meringue:

4 large egg whites (not from a box or carton)
2/3cup (130 g) granulated sugar
1cup (120 g) powderedsugar

For the whipped cream icing:

3 cups (720 ml) heavy cream/heavy whipping cream, cold
¾ cup (90 g) powdered sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract
3 tbsp (45 ml) full-fatmascarpone (or cream cheese), room temperature

To roll/sprinkle/cover each merveilleux, choose one or more of the following:

About 5 oz (150 g) chocolate of choice (white, dark, milk..)
Best-quality chocolate sprinkles
About 1 cup (100 g) of whole cookies, such as Speculoos (Biscoff), crushed into crumbs
About 1 cup (100 g) finely chopped toasted nuts

Instructions

Preheat your oven to 200°F (90°C).

Make the Meringue:

In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment or in a large bowl, using an electric hand mixer, start whipping the egg whites on medium speed until they completely resemble foam.Then, increase the speed to medium-high and very slowly add the granulated sugar, about a tablespoon (15 g) at a time.Keep whipping, until it’s at stiff peak. This can take a total of 10 to 15 minutes to do!Sift the powdered sugar over the whipped egg whites in two additions, gently folding in to combine. Try to keep as much air as possible in the egg whites.
Dab a little meringue in the corners of your baking sheet and press a piece of parchment paper on top.
Transfer the meringue to a piping bag fitted with a large round tip (10 to 12 mm; see chart, page xx) or cut to a large opening. Make small closed swirls to create thirty 2- to 2½-inch (5- to 6-cm) circles on the prepared baking sheet. You can also simply spoon the meringue onto parchment and smooth with the back of a spoon or knife too.
Bake for 2 hours. When the timer goes off, turn off the oven, resist the urge to open the door, and leave in the oven for at least 1 hour to cool.

Prepare Your Toppings

To shave the chocolate, simply use a vegetable peeler and run it along the edge of the chocolate bar, or process it in a food processor. Place the chocolate and the other toppings in separate large bowls and set aside.

Make the Whipped Cream Icing

Whip together the cream, powdered sugar, vanilla and mascarpone at medium-high speed until very thick, like a buttercream. This is beaten more than you would normally whip cream to pipe beautiful swirls on top of a cake.

Assemble the Merveilleux

Put a nice tablespoon-sized (15-ml) amount of the cream on top of one of the disks and sandwich another disk on top. Hold between your thumb and first fingers and ice around the sides.
Smooth with an offset metal spatula or butter knife. Then, roll or sprinkle with toppings and place on a flattened cupcake paper. Chill the bowl of whipped cream as often as you need to throughout the assembly.
Chill the finished merveilleux for about 30 minutes to firm up before serving.

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