In the sixth grade, Ange Christiansen and some classmates formed their own faux business and devised a business plan as part of a school assignment.

The business was a bakery that Christiansen called "Five Bakers and More." Her enterprising group made several batches of goodies, held a bake sale, and even penned a rap song to use for advertising.

"I wanted to be a baker in sixth grade," she said.

Now, many years later, Christiansen, an Arizona native and BYU graduate, has returned to her dream and what she knows best -- baking the most delectable desserts for her ever-growing legions of devoted fans and customers at her dessert bakery and cafe, The Chocolate.

From chocolate cakes called The Brooklyn Blackout and The Cherub, to The Dottie, a variation on the pineapple upside down cake, to gourmet cupcakes, cookies, bars and brownies, Christiansen's desserts are all made from scratch with only the highest-quality ingredients.

Christiansen dabbled in other lines of work since finishing college, including a stint as a federal grant writer in Washington, D.C. But two years ago, with encouragement from her husband, Craig, she decided to make the plunge and open her own dessert bakery from their Lehi home.

"It was very daunting," she said, but Christiansen knew she had the talent, the skill and perhaps most importantly, the passion to be successful.

For three years she learned the ropes of fine dessert making while employed at Cracker and Co. Cafe, a Mesa, Ariz., dessert bakery. The owner and Christiansen's mentor was a Yugoslavian immigrant named Veronika, who used only natural ingredients and no preservatives in her baked goods. Everything was fresh and made from scratch in Veronika's home bakery.

Veronika's influence and tutelage had a lasting effect on Christiansen. Her former employer shared some of her recipes with her, and as an homage to their friendship, Christiansen named one of her own original desserts, a cheesecake paired with a chocolate-chip cookie crust, The Veronika.

But before finalizing her bakery's menu, Christiansen conducted a year of extensive menu development and "taste" research with friends and family on several recipes to tweak each dessert candidate to taste-bud perfection. She and Craig have also done on-the-road bakery research, making trips to dozens and dozens of dessert bakeries in New York City, Boston, Washington D.C., Seattle and others.

"I wanted to find the best of the best and bring it back to Utah County," she said. "Every cake [recipe] is the fifth generation evolution to what people wanted."

For Christiansen, bakery desserts have a much greater meaning than just cake or pastry. All her menu items have specifically chosen names that connote a personal experience or impression she's had. The Dottie, for example, is named after a best friend.

"The concept has always been to experience dessert," she said. "Cake is the symbol of life's celebrations."

Even the name of her business, The Chocolate, is based on her life-long romance with what Christiansen would consider the most divine sustenance in the world, something she can't get enough of.

"I still feel like I'm cheating on chocolate when I love something else" tasty, she said. "You're my first love."

Largely through word-of-mouth rave reviews from regular customers and businesses, The Chocolate, which offers catering, delivery and other services, has become one of Utah Valley's best-kept baked secrets.

Loretta Muldoon, an academic advisor for athletics at Utah Valley University, discovered Christiansen's goods when lunching with friends at the University Mall in Orem.

For a time (and soon again, if things work out) Christiansen was selling her desserts at a kiosk in the Nordstrom Cafe. A self-described food snob, Muldoon is now a spirited cheerleader for Christiansen and her desserts.

"I've never tasted anything that delicious in my life, ... It's the perfect cupcake, ..." Muldoon said. "Every day after that, my co-workers and I would go to the mall for lunch."

Also a fan of TV's The Ellen DeGeneres Show, where the host sometimes samples and reviews local fare, Muldoon is planning to send samples by Federal Express to tempt the celebrity's palate.

"I want to her to taste them, and see if Ange can get some exposure," she said.

And with The Chocolate's business operations and production volume having reached sustainable levels, Christiansen is taking the next big step in her business plan this month.

On Saturday, Dec. 5, The Chocolate dessert bakery and cafe will celebrate its grand opening in the heart of Orem in the historic Knight home at 212 S. State Street, right in front of Classic Skating. Cakes and plated desserts will be served by the slice from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m., Monday through Saturday.

"I'm not discounting other businesses in the area, but usually for this quality, you have to go to Salt Lake or Park City," Muldoon said.

For more information about The Chocolate, go online to www.thechocolatedc.com.