Maple Cake with Indian Pudding Ice Cream and Pumpkin Chips

• Pumpkin Chips (optional):
• 1 small sugar pumpkin, peeled, seeded, and sliced very thinly
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1/2 cup water
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• Indian Pudding Ice Cream:
• 1/4 cup cornmeal
• 1 1/2 cups heavy cream
• 3/4 cups whole milk
• 1/4 cup molasses
• 5 egg yolks
• 1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon salt 
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
•  
• Maple Pound Cake:
• 4 eggs at room temperature
• 1 cup plus 2 tablespoons maple syrup
• 1 cup (2 sticks) butter, melted and kept warm
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 1/2 cups flour
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt

Make the pumpkin chips: preheat the oven to 150ºF. Combine the sugar and water in a small pot. Bring to a boil and remove from the heat. 

Brush the pumpkin slices with simple syrup and lay them flat on a parchment-lined baking sheet. Dry in the oven until shrunken and crispy, about 8 hours. Store in an airtight container at room temperature. (Can be made a day ahead.)

Make the ice cream: preheat the oven to 350ºF. Spread out the cornmeal on a baking sheet and toast in the oven until golden brown, about 12 minutes. Set aside. 

In a medium pot, bring the heavy cream, milk, and molasses to a boil. 

Meanwhile, whisk together the egg yolks, sugar, salt, cinnamon, and nutmeg until pale. Slowly pour the hot cream into the egg yolks, whisking constantly. Return the custard to the pot and cook over low heat, stirring, until it has thickened and reached 185ºF on a thermometer, about 7 minutes. 

Strain the custard through a fine-mesh sieve. Stir in the toasted cornmeal. Refrigerate overnight. Process the custard in an ice cream maker according to the manufacturer’s instructions. Freeze until serving. 

Make the maple pound cake: preheat the oven to 325ºF. Butter and dust an 8-inch loaf pan with sugar. Set aside. 

In a food processor, combine the eggs, maple syrup, melted butter, and vanilla extract. Place the flour, baking powder, and salt in a large bowl and whisk to combine. Transfer the egg mixture to another large bowl; whisk in the dry ingredients in 3 additions. Transfer the batter to the prepared loaf pan. Bake until puffed, golden, and a cake tester inserted into the center comes out clean, about 1 hour, rotating the cakes halfway through the cooking time. Remove from the oven and let cool for 10 minutes. Remove the cake from the pan and let it cool for another 10 to 15 minutes on a wire rack. 

Top slices of warm pound cake with a scoop of ice cream. Garnish each serving with pumpkin chips if you made them.