making a cake - what is angelica?

[CristinaTheAstonishing]

I found an old recipe book and one of the cakes mentions angelica. What is it and can I replace it with something else? Thanks.

wasn't it a funny little green strip of gelatiney stuff? i thought it was decorative but i might be wrong.

Think it's a planty thing, not gelatine - kind of crystallised stalk.

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It's the root of a plant, usually chopped small and candied. (See, Aitch, I'm not a complete dimwit )

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TT, i never thought you were a dimwit.
candied, that's what i meant. not gelatiney. it's not very nice, tastes very green, iykwim. [slightly synaesthetic]

although you probably googled it...

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(Aitch, I just feel a bit dim asking a food question...especially about an ingredient everybody has probably used except me)

Aha! Thank you. It's an iced apricot loaf and now I can see that there are green bits sticking out of the icing, so I'll just ignore those - and the icing as I don't think I have that either.

One last question - it says beat margarine or butter and sugar until pale and fluffy, could this be done by mixer? It's a 1984 book, I think mixers had been invented by then, I don't know why it's not mentioned.

Actually, I didn't [smug]

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CTheA, I read that as an iced apricot leaf and thought you must be a very devoted cook Time for bed I think...

Dior - at electricity! And thanks for the link. Sounds like this angelica thing is pretty potent stuff. I don't know we need it to ease flatulence in this family, seems to come easy as it is (the children, you understand).

my mum got her kenwood chef in '71. it's still going strong, glass bowl and all. i so wish she'd give it to me...