MSI Press Blog

  June 11 marks National German Chocolate Cake Day, a day dedicated to the beloved dessert with its rich layers of chocolate cake, coconut-pecan frosting, and delicate balance of sweetness and texture. But despite its name, German Chocolate Cake isn’t actually German—at least, not in origin. A Misleading Name with an American Story The cake owes its name to Samuel German, an American baker who developed a dark baking chocolate for Baker’s Chocolate Company in 1852. The product, called "German’s Chocolate," gained popularity, and more than a century later, a Dallas newspaper published a recipe using the chocolate in a layered cake with coconut-pecan frosting. The recipe spread like wildfire, and thus, German Chocolate Cake was born—not from Germany, but from an inventive American kitchen. A Perfect Dessert for Any Occasion There’s something undeniably comforting about this cake. The rich but balanced sweetness, the chew of coconut, the crunch of pecans—every bite is a cele...

  For many immigrant children, the early years in a new country feel like being caught between languages, customs, and expectations too vast to explain. There’s the sting of being misunderstood, the ache of wanting to blend in while also needing to hold on. These stories—of bullying, exclusion, and the loss of familiar comforts—often remain tucked away, whispered only to those who truly listen. In  From Tuscany with Love , Lauretta Avina unpacks this quiet struggle with grace and clarity. Her memoir traces the unspoken grief and resilience of childhood immigration—from the bustling rhythms of an Italian village to the jarring newness of American classrooms. She writes with tender honesty about the identity confusion, the loneliness, and the silent strength it took to survive being seen as “other.” But the book is not simply a story of hardship—it’s a tribute to reclamation. In the second half, Avina turns to her roots, to the recipes carried across oceans, folded into memory b...

  For many immigrant children, the early years in a new country feel like being caught between languages, customs, and expectations too vast to explain. There’s the sting of being misunderstood, the ache of wanting to blend in while also needing to hold on. These stories—of bullying, exclusion, and the loss of familiar comforts—often remain tucked away, whispered only to those who truly listen. In  From Tuscany with Love , Lauretta Avina unpacks this quiet struggle with grace and clarity. Her memoir traces the unspoken grief and resilience of childhood immigration—from the bustling rhythms of an Italian village to the jarring newness of American classrooms. She writes with tender honesty about the identity confusion, the loneliness, and the silent strength it took to survive being seen as “other.” But the book is not simply a story of hardship—it’s a tribute to reclamation. In the second half, Avina turns to her roots, to the recipes carried across oceans, folded into memory b...