Candy: Los Postres de elBarri

This two-volume set of books offers handsome presentation photos and detailed recipes for desserts created for the elBarri restaurant group in Barcelona, in many ways the urban successor to the famed elBulli. Developed by pastry chef David Gil along with elBulli keystone Albert Adrià, these plated desserts demonstrate a playful whimsey that extends from their names to their shapes to their flavors. A smoked corn ice cream is frozen in a corn-cob mold. A so-called NY Cheesecake is actually made from lemon-infused meringue. For an array of "air-waffles," the batter is placed on the waffleiron using a foam siphon. "Carrot cake" is presented as a grilled cream cheese sandwich. Recipes appear in the smaller, flexibound volume and often have step-by-step photo sequences illustrating assembly techniques. They are often accompanied by sidebars discussing ingredients or sources of inspiration for a particular dish, which can range from Italian revolutionary Garibaldi to Mayan jewelry. The large