Even health-conscious Los Angeles has a sweet tooth.

Designer desserts are de rigueur at top restaurants, and yogurt shops seem as plentiful as gas stations. Even cupcakes are popular, especially the high-end versions such as those served at Sprinkles.

Now another familiar, but hardly cool, classic snack is getting the upscale treatment: the doughnut. Several L.A. establishments are showcasing revamped versions of the classic cruller.

“The trend now is eating healthy whole grains; but when you have a trend you also have the opposite trend,” said Ken Embers, of Kansas-based American Institute of Baking. “That’s where doughnuts come in. A lot of people are learning new doughnut formulas that are good. They know how to prepare them well, cook them in appealing ways with less frying fat and oil, and serve them well.”

Los Angeles currently boasts around 900 doughnut dealers, placing it near the top of the national list. They range from the tiny storefront shops that are staples at many strip malls to well-known spots like Inglewood landmark Randy’s Donuts, which sports a giant rooftop donut that can be seen from the air when flying into or out of LAX. But we’re not talking typical doughnuts, here, or typical doughnut shop d & #233;cor.

“I love doughnuts, but I’ve never felt comfortable going into the hole-in-the-wall doughnut stores around Los Angeles because they were dirty,” said Alison Winston, co-owner and founder of Frittelli’s Doughnuts & Coffee on Canon Drive in Beverly Hills. “They used big jugs of oil to fry their doughnuts in. I wanted to make a store where the ambiance was more elegant and I didn’t want to use trans-fat shortening.”

About a year ago, she quit her job as a real estate agent to focus entirely on researching and developing her own line of doughnuts that include ingredients such as high-end Belgian chocolate and homemade fillings. They sell for between $1 and $2 per doughnut well more than typical doughnuts.

Grace Restaurant on Beverly Boulevard also offers doughnuts on its dessert menu, at three for $11 plus ice cream. There are even doughnuts with tiramisu centers, said Amy Knoll Fraser, the co-owner of the restaurant.

“We wanted to bring something that is generally low in price point to a higher point,” said Fraser. “The doughnuts definitely bring people in to the restaurant.”

Healthier and high-end doughnuts may be fueling the mini-renaissance, but Winston doesn’t foresee a real boom, in part because doughnuts are tricky to make and a range of flavors is required.

“Do I think there will be a bunch of doughnut shops like there are 10,000 Sprinkles and Pinkberries? No,” she said. “But more low-end types like Winchell’s and Yum Yums will continue to open.”