Soak the raisins in the orange juice and the currants in the cognac for 24 hours. Drain orange juice and cognac; set the raisins and currants aside. In a large bowl, whisk flour, sugar, salt, nutmeg and mace. Mix in milk and butter. Mix in yeast-water mixture and eggs. Place dough on a lightly floured surface and knead until smooth. Roll into a large rectangle.
In a separate bowl, combine the raisins and currants with the apricots, cranberries, candied fruit if using, almonds, walnuts and lemon zest. Sprinkle the mixture onto the dough. Fold the dough over the fruit and nuts and continue kneading until the mixture is incorporated, about 10 minutes. If the dough is sticky, knead in more flour.
Lightly grease a large bowl and place the dough in it. Cover the dough with plastic wrap and place in a warm location. Let it rise until doubled in volume, about 1 to 2 hours. Punch down the dough and divide it into 2 or 4 pieces. Roll out each piece and brush with melted butter, about 7 to 15 mL (½ to 1 Tbsp) melted butter for each piece. Fold each piece in half so the side with melted butter is inside. Gently reshape each piece into a loaf shape. Place the loaves on parchment-lined baking sheets. Cover with plastic wrap and let rise for about 2 hours.
Preheat oven to 180 C (350 F). Remove plastic wrap and bake until golden brown, about 35 to 40 minutes. Let cool completely on a wire rack. Dust with powdered sugar. Wrap each loaf tightly in plastic wrap until ready to serve. Serve at room temperature or toasted. Makes 2 large loaves or 4 small loaves.
Recipe courtesy of Robyn Krentz