Buttermilk Pudding With Fresh Fruit - cooking recipe

Ingredients

2 teaspoons gelatin powder (If you buy Knox Gelatine, each one of the 4 envelopes is 2 teaspoons worth.)
1 cup heavy whipping cream (shake container well before pouring)
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 cups buttermilk (Shake buttermilk well before pouring. I only buy Marburger Gourmet Buttermilk, which is available at)
3 fresh raspberries (strawberries or blueberries) (optional)

Preparation

Mix the gelatin with 2 tablespoons of warm water in a small bowl and set aside. Don't worry if the gelatin actually \"gels\" while you are warming the cream! It completely dissolves once it's placed in the warm cream.
Put the whipping cream and sugar into a small saucepan over medium heat. Heat only until the sugar has dissolved; do NOT scald! Remove from heat, stir in the vanilla extract and add the gelatin to the warm cream mixture. Stir until the gelatin has dissolved. This will take a couple of minutes of stirring with a wooden spoon until the gelatin is completely incorporated into the warm cream.
Allow cream to come to room temperature. I have successfully held the pan over a bowl filled with cold ice water, stirring constantly, to reduce the temperature faster.
Once the cream has cooled to room temperature, add the buttermilk and stir well until thoroughly combined. Strain through a fine mesh sieve into a pourable container that can hold 4 cups, to catch any bits of undissolved gelatin.
Pour the mixture into ramekins, about 1/2 cup per ramekin (the pudding is very rich). Cover the ramekins with plastic wrap and chill to set for at least three hours. At the 1st hour, this is still liquid; at the 2nd hour, it begins to set and by the 3rd hour, it's sheer perfection.
Serve as is for a refreshing and light dessert, with a few fresh berries on top, or layered in a parfait glass with berries.