In a large saucepan, combine sugar, cocoa powder, and gelatin. Stir in milk. Cook and stir over medium heat until mixture just starts to boil. Remove from heat. Whisk about 1 cup of the hot mixture into beaten eggs; return all to saucepan. Cook and stir for 1 to 2 minutes or until an instant-read thermometer registers 175 degrees F and mixture coats the back of a clean metal spoon. Do not boil. Stir in vanilla. Cover and chill for 4 to 24 hours. (Mixture will be thicker after chilling.)

Transfer the mixture to a 4- or 5-quart ice cream freezer and freeze according to the manufacturer's directions. If desired, ripen.* Makes 1 1/2 quarts, 12 (1/2-cup) servings.

Prepare as directed, except stir in 3/4 cup chopped slivered almonds, toasted, before ripening.

Homemade ice cream tastes better and melts more slowly if it is ripened before serving. To ripen ice cream in a traditional-style ice cream freezer, after churning, remove the lid and dasher. Cover the top of the freezer can with waxed paper or foil. Plug the hole in the lid with a small piece of cloth and replace the lid. Pack the outer freezer bucket with enough ice and rock salt to cover the top of the freezer can, using 4 cups ice to 1 cup salt. Ripen about 4 hours.