Forget the gold rush – enter the sugar rush.

Sacramento's sweets scene is buzzing with specialty bakeries, chocolate shops and cupcakeries, blast-from-the-past ice cream fountains and even new handcrafted takes on the popsicle.

But call it a passing fancy at your peril.

"You can't call it a trend anymore. It's mainstream," said Angelica Pappas, who does marketing and editing for the California Restaurant Association. "It's here to stay."

Pappas was talking about cupcakes, but she could very well have been talking about the entire specialty dessert scene.

So, what's with Sacramento's sweet obsession? Theories abound.

Some say it's part of a continued evolution of Sacramento's food culture and its active and savvy customer base.

"It's the artisan factor," Pappas said. "People want the best thing they've ever had and want to talk to the person who made it."

And there's a growing do-it-yourself aesthetic merging food and commerce, spawned in part by reality shows such as the Food Network's "Ace of Cakes" and "Cupcake Wars."

"I think the media has had a lot to do with it," said Trey Luzzi, a one-time director at the state's Department of Corrections who left public service last year to open midtown gourmet bakery TreyBCakes several months ago.

"Foodies are a big thing right now. You get points on Facebook and Yelp. You have Food Network, Food TV – there's eight different channels," Luzzi said. "I think it's really good for Sacramento."

The area's burgeoning dessert scene mirrors a nationwide trend, said Louise Kramer, a spokeswoman for the National Association for the Specialty Food Trade in New York, as food-conscious Americans turn their "passion into a business."

Cupcakes are the perhaps the hottest part of the trend. A quick check on Google shows at least nine stores in the region that pitch themselves as cupcake bakeries, including two within shouting distance of each other in Folsom.

"It's another example of the democratization of food culture," said Daniel Conway of the California Restaurant Association, who joined Pappas in an interview last week. "You can make a cupcake at home, but they're doing things to express themselves as creative people."

That sugary creativity has taken root across the Sacramento area, but it's especially visible on the stretch of L Street between 18th and 19th streets in midtown.

A dessert row has taken shape on the block, with chocolatier Ginger Elizabeth and frozen yogurt spot Yogurtagogo sandwiching TreyBCakes, with its designer cakes, rose and lavender gelatos and, yes, cupcakes. The sweets scene will get even more crowded when Devine Gelateria & Café opens next month across the street from the other three.

Even the economy plays a role, said Ahmed Eita, owner of Rick's Dessert Diner on K and 23rd streets, an elder statesman among the new kids on the block.

Customers, he said, are seeking out affordable indulgences even as they watch their wallets.

"They like to indulge themselves. It makes them feel rich inside," Eita said, sitting near a display case filled with cakes of all sort. "They can't indulge themselves with a big dinner, but a slice of cake is $5, $6 – that won't break them."

It's an embarrassment of riches for the Sacramentan with a sweet tooth, but is too much of a good thing, well, too much?

Eric Heffel, owner of Yogurtagogo believes so.

Heffel's corner shop at 19th and L streets is a fixture. His shop peddles yogurt flavors from coconut to Creamsicle, but Heffel recently diversified, purchasing Freshii, a fast-casual franchise on Third and Q streets downtown featuring fresh, healthy dishes.

He says the specialty dessert market in Sacramento may be reaching saturation.

"I like food, but I'm a business guy. From a business standpoint, when you've got so many, you really run the risk of diluting your customer base," Heffel said.

"You're competing so hard for the limited resources of the customer," he continued. "I don't know how much room there is in the customer's wallet or palate for dessert options."

Luzzi recognizes that, too.

"What will last is a broader menu," Luzzi said. "We have sweet, savory, hot and cold. This foodie thing is only going to grow, but you need to keep an eye on the market and listen to your customers."

Up on Folsom Boulevard near Sacramento State, the colors of the painted floor at What's the Scoop Ice Cream & More swirl and whorl like rainbow sherbet.

At the counter, the bins are stocked with local favorite Gunther's ice cream.

Here, Angel Nazir and her husband, Faze, are testing Heffel's claim. They opened the tiny parlor little more than a week ago, not to capitalize on a new gourmet ice cream trend, but to harken back to the family-owned fountains they grew up enjoying.

All-local products are a part of that formula, and What's the Scoop has already struck deals with local independents including gourmet bakery Sugar and Spice and Capital Confections to feature their fare and plan to partner with neighborhood schools.

Sacramento native Angel Nazir was raised in the shadow of Gunther's, and the couple have modeled their small shop after the Sacramento landmark. Today, the Nazirs hope to re-create that family-friendly atmosphere for a new generation.

"We wanted to bring locals something they couldn't get anywhere else," Angel Nazir said. "My memory was Gunther's. They worked together as a husband-and-wife team. We're a husband-and-wife team. We want to build the same relationship Gunther's built."

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