parenting in the land of dessert

The thread on bedtime snacks got me thinking. I have one child who
thinks dessert should be served at every meal and should always be ice
cream (although she might try some pumpkin squares or jello on an odd
night). I have been trying to make dessert not unusual, but not
mandatory in our home. We do not serve dessert every night and I try to
make it vaguely nutritional and with some variety.

So this is sort of what I do about this:
Dessert is always served immediately following the meal. In most cases,
the kids are full of other foods and thus eat a reasonably small portion
of dessert.

If we have a sweet meal (pancakes, waffles), we do not have dessert.

From time to time, I serve pumpkin desserts or breads. We also eat
custards with some frequency. Ice cream is a local favorite and we make
homemade frozen yogurt and sorbets on and off to supplement the standard
white stuff from the store.

What do you all do about dessert--frequency, variety, etc?

Karen G