Two dry meringues joined with whipped cream, coated all over in more cream and rolled in chocolate shavings, sometimes topped with a candied cherry.
Where to eat it: 3 restaurants across 1 city.
The merveilleux is Belgian by origin and was reworked in French Flanders, where the Hazebrouck pastry chef Roger Mouille made a lighter version bound with whipped cream rather than buttercream. Frederic Vaucamps built a business on it, opening the first Aux Merveilleux de Fred on Rue de la Monnaie in Lille in 1997 before the brand reached Paris, London and New York. The northern French variants sometimes swap the whipped cream for chocolate buttercream and are formed as spheres rather than cylinders. Speculoos, coffee and cherry versions are all standard.
Common allergens: Milk, Eggs
Tip from the editors. Meringues must be bone dry before you fill them, or the cream turns them chewy within the hour.
Aux Merveilleux de Fred started on Rue de la Monnaie in Lille, and this counter still sells the meringue and cream pastry that gave the brand its name.
Tip: Buy the small size and eat it standing. The cream collapses within the hour.
Worth the queue: The merveilleux
The Wazemmes branch of Aux Merveilleux de Fred on Rue Léon Gambetta in Lille opens at 06:30, earlier than the Vieux-Lille shop, and sells the same range.
Tip: This branch closes for a summer break from 27 July to 16 August 2026.
Worth the queue: The merveilleux
The Place des Buisses branch of Aux Merveilleux de Fred sits beside Lille Flandres station, open from 06:00 and stocked with merveilleux and cramique.
Tip: Open from 06:00 on weekdays, which makes it the only serious pastry option before a first train.
Worth the queue: Cramique
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