Get out your dishes that you will be pouring the panna cotta in and set aside.
Half-fill a large bowl with ice and add enough water to make an ice bath and set aside.
In a small saucepan, combine the buttermilk, cream and sugar and bring to a simmer over medium heat.
3 ½ cups Buttermilk, ½ cup Heavy cream, ⅓ cup Granulated sugar
Remove from heat, and whisk in the softened gelatin and the vanilla extract.
½ teaspoon vanilla extract
Mix until the gelatin is fully dissolved. This may take a couple minutes.
Once the gelatin is dissolved, set the saucepan in the ice bath (making sure the top of the saucepan is well above the surface of the water), and whisk until the mixture is lukewarm.
Pour mixture into ramekins and chill at least 4 hours or overnight. If you’re going to keep them longer than overnight, cover them with plastic wrap, pressing the wrap gently against the panna cotta to prevent a skin from forming.
When ready to serve, run a sharp knife along the edge of the panna cotta in the ramekin. Invert over a small serving dish. It may need a minute to release and you can help the panna cotta release from the ramekin with a few taps on the bottom of the ramekin.
Optional: drizzle panna cotta with a little honey and top with fresh fruit.