Although Christmas fruitcake sometimes has a bad rap, your family and friends are sure to love this rich, rum-soaked cake filled with dried fruits and pecans. This cake is less dense and more cake-like than traditional fruitcake recipes since it lacks glowing, candied fruit. Although some reviewers have eaten the fruitcake right away and loved it, for optimal results, let it age for at least 10 weeks (or longer!) before serving. It tastes great either by itself or when covered in a thin layer of almond paste.
| Prep Time: | 20 mins |
| Cook Time: | 55 mins |
| Additional Time: | 8 hrs 10 mins |
| Total Time: | 9 hrs 25 mins |
| Servings: | 8 |
| Yield: | 1 7×11-inch baking dish |
Ingredients
- cooking spray
- 1 pound pork sausage
- 6 (1 ounce) slices bread, cubed
- 2 cups shredded Cheddar cheese
- 2 cups milk
- 6 large eggs
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon ground dry mustard
Instructions
- Lightly grease a 7×11-inch baking dish with cooking spray; set aside.
- Heat a large, deep skillet over medium-high heat. Cook and stir sausage in the hot skillet until browned and crumbly, 5 to 7 minutes. Drain.
- Layer bread cubes, cooked sausage, and cheese in the prepared baking dish. Beat together milk, eggs, salt, and mustard in a medium bowl. Pour over bread mixture. Cover and refrigerate for 8 hours to overnight.
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
- While the oven is heating, let casserole sit at room temperature for at least 30 minutes before baking.
- Bake casserole in the preheated oven until a knife inserted into the center comes out clean, 50 to 60 minutes. Let casserole stand for 10 minutes before serving.
- You can substitute ham or bacon for the sausage.
Nutrition Facts
| Calories | 401 kcal |
| Carbohydrate | 15 g |
| Cholesterol | 207 mg |
| Dietary Fiber | 1 g |
| Protein | 23 g |
| Saturated Fat | 12 g |
| Sodium | 1195 mg |
| Sugars | 4 g |
| Fat | 27 g |
| Unsaturated Fat | 0 g |
Reviews
Great recipe. I used Jimmy Dean’s Hot Sausage and a little less than one pound. It was terrific. I used too much cheese but that was my fault. 2 cups is about 8 ounces. But I bought two 8 ounce bags think one cup per bag and used a bag and a half. But even with too much cheese I got no complaints and lots of praise.
I make this every year for the Senior Citizen Brunch at our church. This is not the original recipe I started with 20 years ago, but it is very close. I add a can of cream of mushroom soup thinned with 1/3 cup of milk to the top before baking the next morning. We prep this on Saturday, it takes about an hour for 100 servings, then pop it in the oven Sunday morning for an easy, delicious meal. Served beside fruit salad and cinnamon rolls this is a favorite for everyone.
This is a good, basic recipe. I halfed the ingredients and used an 8×8 baking dish, leftover brioche buns instead of bread, a mix of three cheeses (Mexican style) and equal parts milk and heavy cream instead of just milk. Mine turned out a little on the salty side, but that could be because of the sausage that I used. I will make it again without the salt and with a different sausage and perhaps add scallions and peppers as others have suggested.
We added onion and peppers, and it was awesome. Definitely a go to for breakfast gatherings.
Family favorite. I use chorizo instead of sausage and sometimes I add roasted poblano peppers.
Love this recipe! Every time I make it, everyone wants the recipe! I used sharp cheddar cheese, black pepper and a pinch of red pepper.
Great basic recipe to which a lot can be easily added. Tip: If you’ve got a FoodSaver or a similar vacuum sealer, you can save a lot of time by putting your ingredients in a rigid container and pulling a vacuum and leaving it for 30-60 minutes rather than needing to let it sit overnight.
I made it for a breakfast party and everyone loved it. I used white bread and cut off the crusts. I also added more eggs, bread and cheese so it would fill a 9×13″ pan better.
I made this exactly as stated. Fantastic. Everyone had seconds. Thanks for the recipe.
I made a low fat version of this recipe for brunch today and my family liked it. I used chicken sausage, low fat milk, and only 1 cup of cheese. For the bread, I used cubed baguette and just eyeballed the amount. The recipe doesn’t specify if the casserole needs to be baked covered? So, I baked it covered for 40 minutes and uncovered it for the rest of the baking time.
Everyone loved it. I added sautéed onions, peppers, and mushrooms to add to it.
This is a great basic recipe. I used maple flavored bacon instead of the sausage, then sauteed in the bacon fat, half a chopped onion along with a handful of mushrooms. I also did not pre-make everything the day before, poor planning on my part, lol. But it turned out great! Oh, I added a diced jalapeno on top too. We like our spice.
It was perfect for a bunch with friends. I’m making it again, but slightly modified because I’m not in my kitchen.
This as rather bland to me but my seventy-year-old dad loved it. A great recipe to use up old bread in the house and when I have a glut of fresh chicken eggs.
This was simple and delicious. I used leftover brioche and it was very tasty and gave it almost a custard texture. Would definitely make again.
This was great. I used homemade sausage and homemade French everything bread that was getting dry. I had to use 2 more eggs and a bit more milk. I also added gr pepper and onions. Definitely will make again.
A christmas morning tradition that is also a favorite. Very easy recipe and delicious.
Mmmmmmmm, mmmmmmmm, mmmmmm good! It was a hit.
Great recipe for a breakfast/brunch since you get it all ready the night before and it is really versatile. I used a leftover baguette, cooked bacon, gruyere cheese and spinach (cooked in a little of the bacon grease). Note: people complain about rating a recipe 5 stars when you change it but these reviews are what makes this site so useful. Often we don’t have the exact ingredients so knowing what other people did is really helpful.
Perfect just as written!
I have made this many times. Follow the recipe exactly as is. It is a great hit Christmas morning!!