Red Currant Bakery

Lemon Ricotta Filling
0 To make the ricotta filling, you can either blend it or not. I like to blend it but it's not really necessary since it will be melting and a lot of ricotta when blended becomes quite liquidy. So unless you're really worried about the texture, don't bother blending it. Only blend it if you know for sure that it won't become overly runny.
2 Add the ricotta into a bowl along with the zest of one lemon, 25 grams of granulated sugar, and 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract. 
Assemble
4 Slice the brioche loaf into 2" thick slices.
5 Use the knife to cut a slit in the bottom of each slice that creates a pocket inside of the bread.
6 Basically you want to cut the slice into two but don't cut through the two sides and top of the slice.
7  Fill each slice with the ricotta mixture and kind of massage it into the slice so that it gets every where and doesn't run out. Place all of the slices on a parchment lined baking sheet and place them in the freezer.
Cook
9 In a baking dish, whisk together the eggs, milk, and a teaspoon of vanilla extract. 
10 Heat a cast iron skillet (any pan will work but cast iron will give the best crisp), over medium low heat with a decent amount of butter - it kind of depends on how big your pan is but basically you want a bubbling coating of butter in the pan but it doesn't need to be even 1/8" thick in the pan.
11 While the pan heats up and the butter melts, soak both sides of the first three slices of stuffed french toast from the freezer in the custard mixture.
12 Place the soaked slices in the warm pan. They should sizzle slightly when you put them in, if they don't increase the heat slightly, if the are wildly sizzling, turn the heat down. Let them cook until golden brown and then flip to cook the second side. 
13 Cook again until golden brown. Keep them warm on a baking sheet in the oven set to 200 F. Then repeat with the remaining slices. 
14 Ideally dust the slices with powdered sugar or top with cooked down raspberries and blackberries.