Simple designs, like the luscious buttercream blooms atop these tiny cakes, can make a big impression. Just three inches high, these beauties could be the highlight of a dessert buffet or served at each place at a shower.

Here's a proposal that doesn't require a bended knee: Serve a pint-size pillow of cake with a sweet candy sparkler tucked on top. Moist carrot cake, a cloud of cream-cheese frosting, and a smooth fondant overlay complete the conceit.

To construct our irresistible lemon icebox cake, with its layers of scalloped lemon cookies and honey mascarpone cream, we simply built from the bottom up. Top it with candied lemon slices for a tangy-sweet cookie cake that will appeal to fickle kids and grown-up foodies alike. (These cookies were made from scratch, but store-bought ones work just as well; try Moravian Meyer lemon cookies, Salem Baking Co.)

Refresh your shower guests with layer after colorful layer. Creating this stacked confection is simpler than making a sundae -- just spoon the slightly softened icy treats into a loaf pan (line the pan with plastic wrap first, and freeze one layer before adding the next). Our stripes, from top, are cantaloupe sorbet, peach frozen yogurt, strawberry ice cream, and raspberry sorbet.

These treats are just the trick for an all-white or wintertime shower, but the coconut flavor gives just enough sweet nostalgia for the summer months.

A cullinary delight, melted chocolate is nearly synonymous with indulgence. Serve it alongside yummy delectables to dip, such as dried apricots, pretzel sticks, and cubes of pound cake. Or consider cookies, caramels, fresh fruit, and chunks of coconut. Use Japanese porcelain teacups and sushi trays to yield single-size portions for guilt free double-dipping.

Offer a tiered treat your guests won't be expecting. We stacked sugar cookies to resemble wedding cakes. Each cookie is spread with royal icing; once the frosting sets, small dabs of icing secure the tower. Top with a sugar flower and serve individually for a dessert that takes the cake. Cookies, Eleni's.

In the ancient Celtic ritual of handfasting, a couple's hands were tied together with ribbon during the wedding. For these domed petits fours, our food editor Elizabeth Colling fashioned pulled sugar into delicate knots. Though the ribbons look deceptively soft stretched over white fondant, they're just as crisp as hard candy. And because these cakes are mini in size, they're the perfect dessert to serve shower guests.

Sometimes the simplest techniques produce the most striking effects, as is the case with these single tiers topped with cocoa-powder initials (his, hers, and theirs). A fairly dense cake, such as a pound cake or vegetable-oil-based cake, works best to provide an even surface to stencil, as does turning the flat bottom of the cake top-side. We glazed our Chocolate-Cherry-Stout Cake with a cornstarch-based chocolate glaze. Once the glaze hardened, the stencils (available from Designer Stencils) were applied, and cocoa powder dusted on.

These colorful, easy to make, and delicious sweet frozen treats are perfect for any bridal shower. All you need is a mixer to soften the sorbet and a metal container -- or four (you can use cake molds and a vase to get these shapes). Once the sorbet is smooth in consistency, spoon it into the containers (for visual flair, layer different flavors), and freeze overnight. Lemon, peach, coconut, and pink grapefruit sorbets are showcased in our versions, but you could easily substitute ice cream.

Bite-size brownie cupcakes topped with round candies are the perfect addition to a dessert table or can be served on their own -- just set them out for shower guests to gobble up. Custom candy dots, Papabubble, 212-966-2599.

Instead of a traditional cake, serve shower guests miniature cupcakes in the bride-to-be's favorite flavor and display them on this easy and charming lace tower.

As fun to make as it is to eat, our sparkling marmalade-candy cake takes a little muscle -- and that's about it. Buy the bride's favorite hard candies, place them in a large resealable plastic bag, get a rolling pin, and have a blast pounding. Then press the glittering crushed pieces to the sides of a buttercream cake. Orange hard candy, La Vie de La Vosgienne, amazon.com.

Fancy: Yes. Fussy: Not in the least. To make these mini chocolate-covered desserts, we poured a glaze over each cake and piped on lines -- and, in the case of the cake in the middle, circles -- of melted white chocolate. (Perch the cakes on a wire rack so excess glaze doesn't pool.) Then we gently dragged a toothpick through the lines to create the designs.

A simple square cake is a literal translation of a wonderful old letter found in a vintage-paper and print shop. The royal-icing monogram is surrounded by a rolled-fondant flower garland on a blue background.

The monograms on these French patisserie-style charlottes, or molded sponge cakes, consist of piped chocolate batter baked into almond-flavored cake. Each confection is filled with milk-chocolate ganache and chocolate-espresso Bavarian cream; the top and bottom are sealed with chocolate cake rounds brushed with espresso syrup. Glossy chocolate glaze and a crisp twirl of espresso Swiss meringue complete the picture. Calligraphy by Maybelle Imasa-Stukuls.

The fondant-covered box "lids" are the actual cake here, and the bottoms, also wrapped in fondant, are cake risers. The whole package is tied together with a taffeta ribbon, while each tier is edged with gold luster dust and matching royal-icing dots -- adorably perfect for a bridal shower. The surrounding gumdrops, mint "lentils," sugar wafers, dragees, and pillow mints, are treats you might find inside these packages ... were they not made of cake.

The traditional princess cake, an old Swedish wedding standby, is normally covered in green marzipan. In our decidedly floral interpretation of the confection, the dome-shaped cake was cloaked in pink fondant and topped it with a smattering of real cherry blossoms, some of which have been coated with sugar.

With their sugar-brushed flower petals and fragrant, rose-flavored glaze, these delicate cupcakes are pretty in pink and perfect to serve to shower guests. On the inside, jewels of candied ginger are hidden in a zesty ginger cake that's just sweet enough to make you, well, blush.

Surprise and delight shower guests with a childhood favorite -- funnel cakes. The fanciful quality of this dessert is sure to instill childlike anticipation in anyone.

A little decadence goes a long way, especially when the words "triple" and "chocolate" are involved. Moist, coffee-infused chocolate cake, milk chocolate mousse, and a creamy chocolate glaze combine for a mocha moment -- complete with a coffee bean -- that's worth the indulgence and will make any chocolate lover jump for joy.

Angel food cake never disappoints. Shower guests will be delighted by these individual versions of the heavenly confection; each one is glazed and then topped with a single sugared flower (an edible rose, viola, or primrose), making them elegant enough to present either in lieu of a classic cake or as part of a dessert buffet. Cake stands dusted with pale pink sanding sugar give them the stature they deserve.

Delight guests at a shower with their own tiered "cake." For these fudge treats, which can be made with white or dark chocolate, cookie cutters form bite-size layers resembling those on a wedding cake. Pink sanding sugar serves as icing, and paper doilies enhance the dainty display.

Acknowledge Cupid's work with ice cream hearts in which his arrow has made its mark. Soften strawberry ice cream in a mixer on low, spread onto a rimmed baking sheet, and refreeze. Bake arrow-shaped tuiles, and just before serving, cut ice cream with a cookie cutter and place arrow.

Tart and sweet, these hazelnut cheesecake squares are the perfect small treat for a bridal shower.

An airy angel-food cake is the perfect dessert for an afternoon shower. Since the cake is sweet, unsweetened whipped cream -- maybe with seasonal berries on the side -- is the best accompaniment.

These truffles are made even more special with the addition of champagne and cognac. To make them look as good as they taste, we rolled ours in coarse sanding sugar. Serve these at each guest's seat at a bridal shower, or wrap them up in glassine bags with a bow as favors.

Instead of a traditional dessert at a shower, why not serve these wedding cake-inspired stacked meringue disks? They're delicious and will certainly get everyone ready for the wedding -- and the wedding cake.

These truffles are made from rich chocolate ganache dusted in cocoa powder and adorned with miniature blooms, which are perfect served after a shower luncheon or at a brunch. After all, why not let guests eat cake and rich confections too?

A tree of three glass cake stands holds two kinds of Bavarians -- lemon verbena dusted with ground pistachios and pink raspberry topped with sugared berries and rose petals -- afloat in vanilla custard sauce.

This shortbread comes in two flavors, classic butter and a modern version made with green tea. The classic cookies are round with small spoon and fork imprints; the green tea ones are cut into the shape of leaves. Both make perfect additions to a tea-themed shower.

Madeleines, miniature French sponge cakes, are made in special scallop-shell-shaped pans. These are enhanced with rose water and sprinkled with pale-pink sugar.

Softly sweetened coffee-infused cream makes for deeply flavored panna cottas (Italian custards) that are as silky and light as they are rich. A vanilla-flecked caramel sauce balances the slight bitterness of the coffee. Present them as a delightful dessert course at a shower and guests will be thanking you.

Ice cream without a cone is like jelly without peanut butter: It's great on its own but tastes so much better with its classic companion. Now guests can enjoy a drip-free ice cream cone with these delightful -- and delicious -- waffle cups. For a lick of extra visual punch, match the flavor of ice cream or sorbet to your color scheme.

Serve these homemade mini Bundt cakes as dessert at a shower, or package them in beautiful boxes and send them home with shower guests as a gift.

Shapely bombes, consisting of sorbets layered in molds and frozen, lend cool sophistication to a sweets table and make a wonderful dessert at a shower. On the left, the tropical bombe made with lemon, coconut, and passion fruits; in the middle, a lemon and Champagne sorbet; and on the right, a coconut-lemon dome adorned with candied lemons.

A coconut cake, mint candies, and rose melting-moments cookies create a gorgeous pink color scheme for this cherry blossom-inspired dessert table.

For a cold and refreshing (and very fitting) palate cleanser, give each shower guest a miniature wedding cake molded from sorbet. For a sweet decoration, the bride's and groom's initials are piped in chocolate along the edge of each plate, and the sorbet "cake" is garnished with raspberries.

To create these whimsical Pavlovas, clouds of meringue, perfumed with vanilla, are baked until crispy outside and marshmallow-soft within; each is topped with a pool of lemon curd and candied lemon slices. Shower guests will be asking for more of this delicious and dreamy dessert.

These sangria-inspired gelees, infused with sweet wines and subtly undercut with citrus flavors, are for sophisticated palates and make a great treat for shower guests at the end of a brunch or lunch.

Individual Pavlovas are both whimsical and elegant when served in miniature cupcake liners. The dessert was named for Russian ballerina Anna Pavlova. The "cake" portion of the cupcake is a puff of meringue, crispy on the outside and soft inside; each Pavlova is topped with a dollop of tangy yogurt cream and a sugared golden currant.

Homemade marshmallows become even more special when dressed in a pastel version of your palette. When they're ready, stack 'em three high, spear with a cute, beaded toothpick, and watch your guests gobble them up.

For a delicious treat for shower guests, serve these puddings alongside chewy strips of candied lemon peel, available at gourmet shops and specialty candy stores.

Acknowledge Cupid's work with ice cream hearts in which his arrow has made its mark. Soften strawberry ice cream in a mixer on low, spread onto a rimmed baking sheet, and refreeze. Bake arrow-shaped tuiles. Just before serving, cut ice cream with a cookie cutter and place arrow.

An adorable dessert for a garden-themed bridal shower, these "potted" chocolate puddings celebrate the season of buds and new beginnings. Composed of flowering herbs nestled in chocolaty "soil"-covered pudding, the decadent desserts are a sweet, witty symbol of your fresh start.

One would think that meringues can't be improved upon, but dip them in a mix of luster dust and orange extract, and you'll think differently.

"I'm an instant star. Just add water and stir," David Bowie once said. These glimmering goodies are practically as easy to make and, with their surprising flavors, just as captivating. We covered dried sour cherries in marzipan and luster dust, then added faux leaves on top for a touch of gold.

For grown-ups only, our Champagne gelatin, paired with fresh whipped cream, will delight the young at heart and sophisticated of palate. (Use rose Champagne for a pink hue.)

Everyone knows you and your groom are cut out for each other; these monogrammed shortbread sandwich cookies just drive home the point. Let store-bought cookie cutters do the heavy lifting; we started with a round ruffly one to get the shape, then mini alphabet cutters for the monogram. Between the layers lives sweet-tart rhubarb jam -- another perfect match. We used mini alphabet cutters by R&M from Amazon.com and a heart aspic cutter by Ateco. Serve them as a sweet treat at your shower, or package them up and send them home with your guests as favors.

A unique dessert, these gelees are poured into simple, modern glasses, with graphic layers of flavors (rose water, ginger, lychee, and rose Champagne), which elevate the childhood staple to shower-worthy haute cuisine. Top them with a single cherry blossom.

If love is like a rose, then these mango tartlets resembling the romantic blooms are truly the food of love -- minus the thorns. They're a diminutive treat to make for a light and fragrant dessert for a bridal shower, thanks to the airy pate-brisee crust and a vanilla-infused filling of creme fraiche. Arrange strips of fruit to form "petals" and garnish with a mint leaf.