The basic idea of a Topic of the Week contest is to increase the content we have about hot and/or underrepresented topics. Feel free to leave suggestions here for future topics.

**How it works:** We will designate one topic each week, and each person who asks a question relating to that topic will be eligible to win a prize.

**How to enter:** Ask a question relating to the topic of the week, and tag it accordingly. (This week, use the [tag:desserts] tag.) Each question you ask will get you one entry into a random drawing to win a book of your choice (under $50).

**Dates:** Dessert week goes from today (Tuesday 7/3/12) until 10am EDT on Tuesday 7/10/12.

**Choosing the topic of the week:** Topics are chosen based on community input. If you have suggestions for next week's topic, please leave them as answers to this post.


**Fine Print:** This contest is open to all users across the globe, but the book of the winner's choice must be available for purchase online so that Stack Exchange can easily buy and ship it. The book does not have to be related to the topic of that week, but it should be related to cooking. Questions must remain open and not have a negative score in order to be eligible. You must include at least one of the designated tags for the current contest, but you may add additional tags as necessary. Each person may only win one weekly topic contest in an 8-week period.

**Previous Weekly Challenge Topics & Winners:**

 - Jan 3 - 10: Deep frying (winner [FuzzyChef][2])
 - Jan 10 - 17: Cheese (winner [rumtscho][3])
 - Jan 17 - 31: Pastry (winner [KatieK][4])
 - Jan 31 - February 7: Soup (winner [Aaronut][5])
 - Feb 7 - 14: Chocolate (winner [ElendilTheTall][6])
 - Feb 14 - 21: Vegetarian/vegan (winner [Sam Ley][7])
 - Feb 21 - 28: Bread (winner [rfusca][8])
 - Feb 28 - March 6: Sauce (winner [mfg][9])
 - Mar 6 - 13: Middle Eastern cuisine (winner [Mien][10])
 - March 13 - April 3: Pies, cakes, cookies (winners [jotyc][11], [rumtscho][12], and [village][13])
 - April 3 - 10: Catering & bulk cooking (winner [Sobachatina][14])
 - April 10 - 17: French cuisine (winner [BaffledCook][15])
 - April 17 - 24: Gluten-free cooking (winner [F'x][16])
 - April 24 - May 1: Coffee (winner [Jay][17])
 - May 1 - 8: Mexican cuisine (winner [ElendilTheTall][18])
 - May 8 - 15: Condiments (winner [Peter Taylor][19])
 - May 15 - 22: Strawberries (winner [Ray][20])
 - May 22 - 29: BBQ/grilling (winner [yossarian][21])
 - May 29 - June 5: Bacon (winner [yamikuronue][22])
 - June 5 - 12: Salad (winner [mfg][9])
 - June 12 - 19: Cocktails (winner [KatieK][4])
 - June 19 - 26: Vanilla (winner [Mien][10])

  [1]: http://meta.cooking.stackexchange.com/questions/1286/would-you-be-interested-in-a-topic-of-the-week-contest
  [2]: http://cooking.stackexchange.com/users/7180/fuzzychef
  [3]: http://cooking.stackexchange.com/users/4638/rumtscho
  [4]: http://cooking.stackexchange.com/users/1685/katiek
  [5]: http://cooking.stackexchange.com/users/41/aaronut
  [6]: http://cooking.stackexchange.com/users/4194/elendilthetall
  [7]: http://cooking.stackexchange.com/users/9091/sam-ley
  [8]: http://cooking.stackexchange.com/users/1374/rfusca
  [9]: http://cooking.stackexchange.com/users/15/mfg
  [10]: http://cooking.stackexchange.com/users/4580/mien
  [11]: http://cooking.stackexchange.com/users/8315/jontyc
  [12]: http://cooking.stackexchange.com/users/4638/rumtscho
  [13]: http://cooking.stackexchange.com/users/9519/village
  [14]: http://cooking.stackexchange.com/users/2001/sobachatina
  [15]: http://cooking.stackexchange.com/users/641/baffledcook
  [16]: http://cooking.stackexchange.com/users/9940/fx
  [17]: http://cooking.stackexchange.com/users/8305/jay
  [18]: http://cooking.stackexchange.com/users/4194/elendilthetall
  [19]: http://cooking.stackexchange.com/users/4590/peter-taylor
  [20]: http://cooking.stackexchange.com/users/4489/ray
  [21]: http://cooking.stackexchange.com/users/1259/yossarian
  [22]: http://cooking.stackexchange.com/users/6317/yamikuronue