Marvelous by Fred

A different take on French desserts

Let’s get the bad news out of the way. The English name for this bakery is awkward and cringeworthy. The original French name is better: “Aux Merveilleux de Fred”. Although “Marvelous by Fred” is a technically correct translation, it doesn’t invoke the same personal touch.

Marvelous by Fred is a chain bakery originating from Lille, Northern France. Their signature dessert is the namesake merveilleux (pronounced mair-veh-year; marvelous in English). It’s a unique creation of their own consisting of a meringue shell with bits of goodies inside it.

Exterior of Marvelous
Marvelous by Fred
Pastry counter of Marvelous
Pastry counter

The food

The merveilleux has spawned a line of meringue treats like the incroyable (unbelievable), impensable (unthinkable), magnifique (magnificient), and so on. The differences are with the whipped cream flavour and coating. Since it was my first time here, I had to try the original merveilleux.

These meringue desserts are available in different cake sizes. They also come in mini versions, perfect for sampling. The packaging was dainty, like upscale French pâtisseries.

Box from Marvelous
Box for mini desserts

The merveilleux consisted of chocolate whipped cream on top of a meringue base. It was coated with dark chocolate shavings.

Mini le Merveilleux from Marvelous
Mini le merveilleux

It looked deceptively simple but was packed with flavour. The meringue had a delicate crisp shell and was incredibly light. It was as if I were eating air. The dark chocolate had a robust flavour. Not mass market cocoa. The mound of whipped cream bridged the meringue and chocolate pieces perfectly. It was a bite filled with varying temperatures, textures, and flavours. 8.5/10.

Le Merveilleux base from Marvelous
Meringue base of merveilleux

Their other meringue desserts were good but weren’t that spectacular.

Le magnifique and l'incroyable from Marvelous
Mini le magnifique and l’incroyable

The magnifique offered crunch from the almond and hazelnut pieces. The pieces of hazelnut had a caramel crystal coating, which contributed to dynamic flavour changes as one bites through the magnifique.

Le magnifique from Marvelous
Mini le magnifique

The whipped cream was advertised as praline but I couldn’t taste any of it. Of all the components, the meringue was the best. It used the same base as the merveilleux. 8/10.

Le magnifique filling from Marvelous
Whipped cream filling with caramel from le magnifique

The incroyable should work in concept. It had a mound of speculoos whipped cream covered in white chocolate shavings. Speculoos is a thin Belgian/Dutch biscuit, spiced and caramelized. Its presence in the incroyable was very faint. I couldn’t taste the white chocolate either.

L'incroyable from Marvelous
Mini l’incroyable

The dessert ended up being an indistinct mass of smokey sweetness. The excellent meringue was the redeeming factor. 7/10.

L'incroyable filling from Marvelous
Whipped cream filling from l’incroyable

The other signature treat from Marvelous are its cramik brioches. Brioche is basically bread made with lots of butter and eggs. Cramique is a brioche variation from Belgium and the northern tip of France. It is still a sweet bread but not as rich. I don’t know why Marvelous chose to spell it as “cramik” for the English market, but it’s the same thing.

Bag from Marvelous
Bag for breads and sandwiches

I’ve had plenty of brioches before. The cramique from Marvelous was memorably photogenic. It had a distinct dome with tiny spikes around it. A generous layer of egg wash gave it a glossy sheen.

Chocolate cramik brioche from Marvelous
Chocolate cramik brioche

Marvelous has three flavours of cramiques: sugar, raisin, and chocolate. The former two are traditional but they don’t interest me as much as the chocolate one. I think I made the right choice because the chocolate cramique was decadent. The chocolate tones were so deep it was borderline alcoholic. Despite the rich dough, the crumb was surprisingly loose. One of the best brioches I’ve had. 8.5/10.

Interior of chocolate cramik brioche from Marvelous
Interior of chocolate cramik brioche

The place

Marvelous by Fred looks like a typical upscale Parisian bakery. Goods are displayed with precision behind marble top counters. There is space for a couple of cafe tables but it has hardly been used. The bakery opened shortly after the COVID-19 pandemic hit. When indoor dining is allowed again, it will be a fine spot for some afternoon tea.

Dessert counter of Marvelous
Sandwich and dessert counter

Verdict

Exquisite meringue creations and flawless cramiques (brioches). 8.5/10.

Practical information

Name
Marvelous by Fred
Rating
8.5/10
Recommended dishes
Merveilleux
Chocolate kramik
Prices
Merveilleux (mini): $3.33 ($2.95 excluding tax)
Magnifique (mini): $3.33 ($2.95 excluding tax)
Incroyable (mini): $3.33 ($2.95 excluding tax)
Chocolate kramik (small): $3.62 ($3.20 excluding tax)
Address
224 Queen Street West
Hours
0830h – 1930h
Date of visit
November 2020, December 2020, April 2021