20 Bridal Shower Cake Ideas for a Sweet Celebration

We’ve found designs for every style.

Leigh Crandall

Updated 07/21/20

cake crop — Photo by Anna Peters; Cake by Honey Crumb Cake Studio; Floral Design by Gather Design Company; Planning and Design by Callista and Company

Bridal showers are all about celebrating with friends and family and, while you don’t have to serve a full meal, offering a dessert with coffee or cocktails is a sweet touch.

It’s also a place to have fun with cake designs—you can even look to your wedding for cake ideas inspired by a wedding gown, destination, or venue details. Another idea? Throw a shower with a sweet theme inspired by a favorite location, color, flower, you name it.

Read on for bridal shower cake ideas you and your guests will love, no matter your style.

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Form a Trio

Good things come in threes, like this trio of mini cakes topped with pastel and cream-colored blooms. Plus, three different cakes mean three different flavor options.

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Include Edible Flowers

mini cakes — Photo by Rebecca Theresa Photography; Cookies by Loria Stern

These cookies, created with edible pressed flowers, are each a work of art and almost too pretty to eat (almost). Recreate this look on cookies (like these!) or even on mini cakes for an extra sweet treat.

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Do Brunch

Many bridal showers are held around brunch time, so why not embrace a beloved breakfast food like waffles to create a cake. Serve with sides of whip cream, syrup, and fresh berries.

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Embrace Minimalism

white cake — Photo by Anna Peters; Cake by Honey Crumb Cake Studio; Floral Design by Botanique

This simple two-tiered cake feels modern and sculptural thanks to the addition of delicate botanicals, while a glass pedestal and creamy hue keep the look clean.

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Decorate With Flowers

A simple white cake gets dressed up with a border of pale pink flowers and a little greenery, a trick that’s easy to replicate with blooms to match the palette of your celebration.

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Make a Masterpiece

Love flowers? Make them the spotlight by creating an asymmetrical topper atop a plain white cake. It'll make the perfect photo opp.

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Add Paper Flowers

Blooms created from wafer paper transform plain pink buttercream layers into a creative, colorful cake perfect for a spring celebration.

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Have It Hand Painted

A hand-painted cake is a beautiful way to add a personal detail to the day, whether it’s a quote that’s meaningful to the bride-to-be or a pattern inspired by a favorite designer. This cake’s illustration captured the flowers and greenery used during the celebration.

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Try Truffles

cake with truffles — Photo by Tara Bielecki Photography; Cake by Wildflower Cakes

A chocolate lover’s fantasy, this chocolate cake is filled with ganache and mocha buttercream, then decorated with chocolate hazelnut truffles. A sprinkling of powdered sugar adds depth to the design while greenery provides a pop of color.

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Make a Macaron Tower

macaron wedding cake — Photo by Lance Nicoll; Macarons by Chef Sully Fournigault; Cake by Beth Biundo Sweets

Not only are macarons delicious, they come in a wide variety of flavors and colors that will fit with any party’s palette. Displayed as a tower they also become showstopping, centerpiece dessert. For an easy favor, you can also send guests home with macarons packaged in personalized boxes.

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Look to Your Dress for Inspiration

If you’ve already found your wedding dress, look to design details—lace patterns, beading, or bows for example—to inspire the shower cake. This three-tiered cake was made to mimic the movement of the ruffles on one bride’s gown.

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Go Graphic

A pale pink three-layer cake gets even more eye-catching with a modern, vertical linear pattern. Polka dots work equally well for dressing up plain layers.

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Think Tropical

For a fun preview of the celebration to come, add a design detail inspired by your wedding venue. This cake, for example, evokes a tropical destination wedding with its vivid greenery and simple white bloom.

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Embrace the Blues

berry cakes — Photo by D’arcy Benincosa; Planning by Michelle Leo Events

Berries, that is. This clever cake alternative sees ladyfingers surround blackberries and blueberries, topped off with sprigs of rosemary.

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Look to Your Venue’s Architecture

This cake’s abstract blue coloring lined with gold leaf mimicked the stained glass windows and gold-hued window panes of the converted sugar mill where the event took place.

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Add a Sweet Touch

This little cake makes a big impression thanks to its beautiful, vintage green glass stand and abundant flowers that lend it a Victorian feel.

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Serve Individual Cakes

Put dessert front-and-center with individual cakes on guests’ place settings as they arrive. Single serving sized desserts are not only beautiful, but also a seamless way to accommodate attendees’ specific dietary restrictions.

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Add Strawberries

strawberry cake — Photo by Hannah Alyssa; Design by Gregory Blake Sams Events; Cake by Heather Barrie and Mary Ruth Miller of Gathering

Throwing a shower in the spring of summer months? Consider enhancing your cake with seasonal fruit. We love the look of these strawberries paired with simple yellow and white florals.

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Think Whimsical

We're obsessed with pressed flowers, and this cake is proof of why. Here, the ferns create a natural look when combined with vibrant petals and buds.

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Have Your Cake—and Donuts, Too

Can’t choose between sweet treats? Take inspiration from this couple who cut a “cake” with donuts on the bottom and a tier of lemon cake on top. This concept will work with any combination, from cupcakes to candy.