Luscious and silky, there's nothing that spells dessert satisfaction, like cream. After milk is boiled and allowed to cool, a thick layer of fat and coagulated proteins collects at the surface and can be skimmed off; by repeating the process twice. Cream is the yellow-tinted component of whole milk that is rich in butterfat. If whole milk has not been homogenized, the cream in it tends to separate and rise to the surface. In the days before dairy mechanization, cream was extracted by allowing milk to settle in shallow pans. Cream was the butterfat-rich portion that was skimmed off after 12 hours. The even richer heavy cream skimmed off after 24 hours was called double cream. Buffalo's milk being rich in fat gives more Malai compared to cow's milk. Cream is the Malai made at home or it is easily available in homogenized form in the market.