A day or two before you want to bake your fruitcake, combine all the dried fruit and soak it in enough brandy or cognac to cover, in an airtight container or a large bowl that can be covered.

Preheat oven to 275° F.

Drain the dried fruit mixture, reserving the brandy/cognac to soak the fruitcakes (or use it to soak another batch of fruit...because you will want to make this again!)

Butter and flour your pans; alternately, use Bak-Klene...this stuff is amazing. I used Nordic Ware 9-cup Bundt Quartet for the 4 small fruitcakes and a 10-inch Tube Pan or Bundt Pan for the large fruitcake. You could also use mini loaf pans for the smaller fruit cakes.

Sift flour, baking powder, and salt together and set aside

Beat butter and sugar together at high speed until fluffy, 3 minutes.

Add beaten eggs to the cream butter mixture, and mix until fully incorporated.

Mix orange juice and vanilla together in a separate bowl and set aside

Add dry ingredients in 3 increments, alternating with the orange juice mixture at medium speed until just mixed.  Don't overmix.

Gently fold in the fruit, nuts, and coconut.

If using the mini bundt pans, spoon batter equally among the prepared pans or into the one larger bundt pan. Tap the pans on the counter to encourage the dough to settle into the crevices of the pans.

Bake the small pans for 55-60 minutes and a large pan for 60-70 minutes or until a toothpick or cake tester inserted in the center comes out clean, for both the quartet pan and single bundt pan.

Let cool on a wire cake rack for a couple of minutes and then invert the pan to let the cakes gently come out.

Once cool, wrap the cakes in cheesecloth soaked in brandy and then wrap in plastic wrap and store in the refrigerator. Re-douse your fruitcake with the brandy every week or so to keep it moist.