Goes great with Sauternes or any other botrytis-style dessert wine.
8 buttermilk biscuits (I use Trader Joe's, bake them the morning of and just leave out on the counter uncovered until I'm ready to bake the pudding)
1 cup whipping cream
1 cup unsweetened Vanilla-flavored almond milk
1 cup chopped dried apricots
1/2 toasted, unsalted almonds, chopped (candied pecans could work too I think)
1/2 cup blood orange marmalade (regular orange will work fine)
2 eggs
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon ginger
1 cup sugar (I used Stevia, which isn't as sweet as regular white)
1 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup mango honey, slightly melted
1/4 untoasted almonds for topping, if desired
Preheat over to 400°F.
Using a large mixing bowl, crumble all of the biscuits into tiny, 1/2-inch chunks. Add in the apricots, nuts, sugars and spices and give the mixture a good toss. Add in the eggs, whipping cream, almond milk and marmalade all at the same time. Stir it all up, making sure everything is evenly distributed and all the biscuit pieces are moist. It should be fairly drenched but without any standing liquid in the bottom of the bowl. Add more almond milk if it seems too dry.
Butter a 9"x13" baking dish. Pour in the bread pudding and bake covered with foil for 45 minutes to an hour. Once the center is mostly set (it stops jiggling) remove from the oven and pour the warmed honey (about 15-20 seconds in the microwave) across the top. (Skip this step if going to bake and serve at a later time.) Sprinkle top with additional nuts, if using. Return to the oven uncovered and bake for another 15-20 minutes until the top is lightly browned. Let sit for 5-10 minutes to cool slightly, then serve.
--If you are going to bring this to a party or want to merely reheat it later in the day, stop the baking at an hour. Let it come to room temperature and then place in the fridge until dinner time. Take out and return to room temp. Then add the melted honey and reheat for half an hour at 250°F until warm, browned and fully cooked through.
-Recipe courtesy of Lisa Dinsmore