So I see no reason to shield them from particular foods, or to say that they can't have dessert until they've finished their meal. Especially if that dessert is a healthy one, such as fruit or yoghurt. The more variety of foods, tastes and textures, the more balanced eaters they are likely to be.
Herein lies my quandry - I agree with you in theory, but once they become toddlers, even by using the BLS method they will assert their independence by seeing what they can get if they decide not to have what they've been given. Even when only 12-18 mths old (pre ice-cream days!) she could still use food as a way of asserting herself. If she decided she wanted yoghurt (her fave!) she would try rejecting dinner (even if it was something she might have happily eaten not many days ago) and ask for yoghurt. That's when I started saying "You have to eat your dinner first". I never insisted she eat ALL of her dinner, but she had to make a fair effort. But I digress, since this is a thread for babies after all! Just something to bear in mind.

Also babies and toddlers will reject unfamiliar foods up to 20 times before they will taste it in some cases. So it's worthwhile still offering foods even if it's been 'rejected' before. (There has been some speculation that it's a survival thing, when they are capable of moving around themselves they would be more wary of trying to eat everything they came across).