Hi Sheltie Girl, Thank you! I had fun with it and the buttercream turned out sooo tasty!

Hi Carrie, Thank you! I look forward to seeing your cake.

Hi Jenny, Thanks for the welcome. Xanthan Gum is a special powder ingredient developed by the University of Washington that is meant to add elasticity to gluten-free baked goods to compensate for the lack of gluten in our flours. It reduces crumbliness and just improves texture overall. Guar gum has a similar function in gluten-free baking, but I’ve always used xanthan gum. Hope this helps! Non GF Bakers shouldn’t need to use it in baking- although interestingly, Xanthan gum is in tons of regular stuff, like salad dressing, to make it more “gelatinous.”

-Sea