I can't help with the exact recipe, but I do have some sneaky advice.

Is there any way you could spend time in her home when she's not around?
Maybe when you're visiting and your husband takes her out shopping?
Snoop around her kitchen. Cookbooks tend to open straight to the page
with the recipe that's made a lot. Sometimes the recipe is clipped out
of the newspaper and taped to a cabinet or is on a file card. Look.

No luck with that? Your next snooping place should be your
sister-in-law's. Offer to babysit.

The next time you receive the cake as a gift, have a good look at it.
The recipe might batter from one source with the fruit from somewhere
else. For example, the original recipe might call for nuts, but your
mother-in-law always substitutes dried apricots. So look at the cake
and try to determine what's in it by looking at it. Then find a good
moist batter for the cake part and go from there.

Most important: If you discover the recipe, DON'T let them know you
have it. Save it for your son some day.

Maybe the smile means she's left you the recipe in her will.

--Lia




The Goods wrote:
A little background he

My mother-in-law has made a lovely white fruitcake for years. In fact, it
was a country fair prize winner. For several years I have repeatedly asked
her for the recipe, especially because my oldest son (HER grandson) likes it
and I would like to have it to pass on to him (you know - "here's your
grandmother's beloved fruitcake recipe", etc.). Well, for reasons known
only to her, she just smiles (smirks?) and says nothing (ok, maybe there are
some issues here). Imagine my surprise when her other daughter-in-law (the
"favorite") announced to me recently that MIL gave her the recipe ages ago
(and no, I will not ask SIL for the recipe - more issues). Okay, I give up.

Does anyone have a recipe for a white fruitcake that meets the following
criteria:

- must be VERY moist
- must be full of bright colored fruit
- does NOT contain any nuts
- has no fancy topping, just the lightly browned top of the cake.

Thanks for any help. You may just avert a family crisis.

Jan