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.
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.
The merveilleux consisted of chocolate whipped cream on top of a meringue base. It was coated with dark chocolate shavings.
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.
Their other meringue desserts were good but weren’t that spectacular.
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.
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.
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.
The dessert ended up being an indistinct mass of smokey sweetness. The excellent meringue was the redeeming factor. 7/10.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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