This is my mum's recipe, and since she prefers brandy, that's what's in them. You can use rum or any other spirit if you prefer.

Mix all the ingredients together in a bowl and knead together with your fingers. Pull off small pieces and roll into 1-inch diameter balls between your palms. Toss the balls in chocolate sprinkles or whatever. Store in the refrigerator.

Note 1:The best thing to use is a 'trifle sponge', which is rectangular, and can be bought from Coles or Woolworths. It's just the right density and it crumbs very easily. To make the crumbs pull the cake apart with your fingers and then sort of massage the bits into crumbs. You can tell if the crumbs are too big because when you add the cocoa there'll be big white lumps in the mixture instead of nice evenly coated fine brown crumbs. If this happens just pull the lumps apart. For this reason it's best to add cake and cocoa first and then everything else.

Note 2:These are my mother's tablespoons, which means that they bear little relation to the measly tablespoons of today. For a start, the spoons themselves are much bigger, and secondly she always heaps them. If you have a set of measuring spoons, probably use about 3 level tablespoons for each of the tablespoons in this recipe. In this case precision isn't that important anyway, just mix stuff in till it tastes right. For example, I always add more brandy than this and just cut down on the jam or add a bit more cake till it's the right consistency.