My column is about baking, but this dessert requires no time in the oven. So why am I sharing it with you? Because in the summertime, I often get requests for recipes that are easy to make and don’t heat up the kitchen, and these white chocolate cups are perfect for that.

Though dinner-party worthy, the recipe requires very few ingredients, comes together quickly, can be doubled or tripled, and can be prepared well ahead of serving. You can also top the rich and creamy filling in a variety of ways. I’ve added red and blue berries for a Fourth of July dinner, but other toppings are just as good. Try a thin layer of lemon curd or a drizzle of dark chocolate with a sprinkle of chopped nuts or toffee on other occasions.

Patriotic white chocolate cups

Make in 4-ounce ramekins. This recipe works at any elevation and will yield eight servings. This recipe only works with real white chocolate.

• 8 ounces good, white chocolate
• 1 1/4 cups cold heavy whipping cream, divided
• 1/3 cup plain yogurt or sour cream, room temperature
• 2 teaspoons vanilla paste or vanilla extract
• 8 or more raspberries
• 1/2 cup washed and picked-over blueberries
• 1 1/2 tablespoons seedless raspberry jam, optional

Lightly grease the ramekins and set them aside. Put a mixing bowl and the beaters for your electric mixer in the freezer; the heavy cream will beat more quickly if the bowl and beaters are cold.

Chop the white chocolate into 1/4-inch or smaller pieces. Combine them with 1/4 cup of the whipping cream in a microwave-safe bowl. Place in a microwave oven and heat at a low temperature (three out of 10). White chocolate burns and gets grainy if heated too quickly, so be sure to use a low temperature. Warm the chocolate pieces until they’re melting but still lumpy. Remove the bowl from the microwave and stir until the chocolate pieces are fully melted and the mixture is smooth. If the chocolate doesn’t melt fully after stirring for a few minutes, return the bowl to the microwave, warm the chocolate a little more at a low temperature for a short time, and then stir again until smooth.

Whisk the yogurt or sour cream in a medium-sized bowl until it is smooth. Make sure the yogurt or sour cream is at room temperature. If it is cold, the chocolate will harden when added to it. Whisk the melted white chocolate mixture and the vanilla into the sour cream until they’re well combined and smooth.

Remove the mixing bowl and beaters from the freezer, add the remaining cup of heavy cream to the cold bowl and beat with the cold beaters until it holds soft-to-medium peaks. Fold the whipped cream into the white chocolate mixture until they’re fully blended, and try not to deflate the whipped cream as you do so. Spoon the filling into the greased ramekins, tap each one on a counter to remove any air bubbles, and smooth the tops. Refrigerate while covered for at least three hours and up to a day.

Several hours before serving, arrange the berries over the filling. If you want to add shine to the berries, heat the raspberry jam in a microwave oven until it liquefies, stir in 1/2 teaspoon of water and gently brush the mixture over the berries until they are glistening. Keep the cups covered in the refrigerator until you are ready to serve them. Store leftovers in the fridge.

Vera Dawson’s column “High Country Baking” publishes biweekly in the Summit Daily News. Dawson is a high-elevation baking instructor and author of three high-altitude cookbooks. Her recipes have been tested in her kitchen in Frisco, where she’s lived since 1991, and altered until they work at elevation. Contact her at veradawson1@gmail.com.

Vera Dawson’s column “High Country Baking” publishes biweekly in the Summit Daily News. Dawson is a high-elevation baking instructor and author of three high-altitude cookbooks. Her recipes have been tested in her kitchen in Frisco, where she’s lived since 1991, and altered until they work at elevation. Contact her at veradawson1@gmail.com.