Lemon, ricotta and blueberry brioche slab

For the brioche, combine the flour, sugar, salt and yeast in the bowl of your stand mixer and beat to combine. Add the milk and eggs and beat until incorporated. It will be really sticky. Add the butter and vanilla and give it a quick blitz for about 45 seconds. Then just use your hands to make sure it is combined; knead it in the bowl just long enough to ensure the butter has incorporated. (The softer your cubes of butter, the easier this step is.) Cover tightly with cling wrap and place in the fridge overnight.

The next day, sit the bowl somewhere warm and bring the dough completely to room temperature (this may take a couple of hours). Sprinkle a bit of flour on a work surface and turn out the dough, it will be very soft and elastic. Roll to roughly a 25 x 35cm rectangle or basically slightly larger than the roasting tin you are using.

Line the roasting tin base with baking paper and gently drape over the dough, tucking the ends in at the corners and letting the edges collapse in on themselves (think deep-dish pizza crust). Let it rest in a warm place for 30 minutes while you make the lemon curd and ricotta mix.

Preheat the oven to 170C fan-forced (190C conventional) .

Add the ricotta mix ingredients to a bowl and stir to combine.

For the lemon curd, whisk the whole eggs, yolks and sugar in a saucepan until smooth, then place pan over a low heat. Add the butter, juice and zest and whisk continuously until thickened. Strain through a sieve into a bowl. Stir through the vanilla.

Spread the ricotta mixture over the base of the brioche, keeping within the thick edges as a border. Dollop over the lemon curd. Brush the edges of the brioche with the egg wash then pop in the oven for 22-28 minutes, until the edges of the brioche are gloriously golden and the ricotta and lemon curd mixture feels slightly set.

Remove from the oven. Combine the blueberries, maple syrup and vanilla bean paste in a bowl. Scoop onto the brioche just before serving. This is best served warm and on the day of baking.

Tips: The slab effect is key here – none of that shaping and moulding and potential for overworking, just a quick roll and into a roasting tin like a fluffy buttery pillow.

Blueberries are cheap right now and make a great tart contrast to the lemon curd. Feel free to swap with what you have on hand, just be careful if using frozen fruit as the extra liquid may leach into the lemon and ricotta swirl – will still taste great, just may not look as pretty.