THE FRUIT: Combine all of the fruit ingredients in a non-reactive bowl and soak overnight. THE BATTER: Cream butter, then add sugar, spices and baking powder. Beat in the eggs one at a time. In a separate bowl whisk together the flour and cocoa. Add about half of the flour mixture and all the syrup to the batter. Then add the remaining flour and the juice or water and mix well. Fold in the fruits, any remaining liquid, and the nuts. Grease the bottom and sides of the pans or line with parchment paper. - 7 mini-loaf pans, 16 loaves baked in mini-loaf sets; or two 9 x 5-inch loaf pans. Spoon the batter into the pans, filling them about 3/4 full. Bake the cakes on the middle shelf of a preheated 300°F oven -- 65 minutes for the smallest loaves, 75 minutes for the medium loaves, and 2 hours, 15 minutes for the large loaves. The cakes are done when a cake tester inserted into the center comes out clean. Remove the cakes from the oven, and brush them with rum or brandy. Let them cool, then remove them from the pans. Brush all surfaces with rum, brandy or vanilla syrup. Wrap the cakes in parchment paper, then in aluminum foil or plastic wrap, and store them in a cool, dry place. Unwrap the cakes every week (for up to 5 weeks) and brush them with more syrup. By the fifth week the cakes will have absorbed as much liquid as theyre able. Theyll keep for several months this way, as long as theyre tightly wrapped. The flavor improves and mellows over time. Yield: a possible plethora of fruitcakes.