I thought it might be useful to collect updates in one place as they accumulate to make it easy to copy to our books or print out for them.  If you know of any, feel free to post them here—please differentiate between ingredient and technique updaets.  It seems like it might be a good idea to limit this thread to these updates, and put any questions about them in separate posts.

Errata PPB:  http://www.realbakingwithrose.com/2007/07/corrections_the_pie_and_pastry.html

Flaky Cream Cheese Pie Crust (PPB p. 29)
Ingredients
Heavy cream is used instead of water (leave vinegar “as is”)—http://www.realbakingwithrose.com/2005/10/roses_favorite_flaky_tender_pi.html

Technique
Use latex gloves instead of the plastic bag method.  “re the plastic bag, here’s a great tip: use latex gloves. the dough won’t stick to them and you have a lot more control. simply dump the dough onto the counter, or onto the silicone mat, and gather it together with your latex-gloved fingers. knead lightly or “fraiser” with the heel of your hand (smooch the dough forward about three times to help spread the butter and get the dough to hold together” (Rose’s comment in this post http://www.realbakingwithrose.com/2005/11/how_to_get_a_crisp_brown_botto.html)

- Helpful Notes from Julie
Rose intends for the cream cheese crust to keep the cider vinegar, don’t omit it when substituting heavy cream for the water.  It’s just that it isn’t a straight substitution, you need more heavy cream than water.  So to calculate the correct amount of heavy cream (for instance, if you’re making one of the quantities in the book that are not posted over on the recipe section), add up the water and vinegar to get the right amount.  But the substitution is for the water only, not for the water and the vinegar.

I mix the cream and vinegar in a little bowl and pop it in the fridge just before I begin rolling the butter into flakes.  Then it’s easy to add at the end .

For less shrinking:

-Work cream cheese into flour well- goal is to try to coat the flour with cream cheese so it can’t form too much gluten.
-Use flour with less protein- I like Wondra, but also used gold medal’s bleached AP sometimes (it shrinks more than Wondra).
-Be sure to use the optional baking powder.
-Be sure to include the cider vinegar and use heavy cream instead of water.
-Don’t overwork the dough or add too much liquid.
-Perhaps most important of all, don’t overbake- even a little overbaking can lead to shrinking.  Golden is better than russet.

Great tips.  For me, the main reason of pie crust shrinkage is how it is handled when rolled and fitted in the pan!!!!  Never stretch it like fondant when rolled.  Instead, roll it larger than the pan, gather it to itself, tuck it in instead of pulling it appart to fit the pan.

Lemon Curd (PPB p. 158)
Technique
Beat butter into the eggs and sugar before adding juice protects yolks from curdling, so you get no residue (TCB p. 45)

Gingersnap Crumb Crust(PPB p. 67)
Ingredients
Rose has a recipe for gingerbread cookies (RHC p. 255) if you prefer to make your own.  If you prefer to purchase them, she recommends Swedish brand gingersnaps (RHC p. 252).

Protecting the pie crust borders from overbrowning
Technique
Rose mentions here (http://www.realbakingwithrose.com/2006/11/great_tip_for_your_thanksgivin.html) that it actually works better to put the foil ring on at the beginning of baking (instead of part way through), as the pie will brown perfectly under the foil.

Peaches ‘n’ Cream Tart (PPB p. 266)
Technique

Notes from Julie, confirmed by Rose (full post here - http://www.realbakingwithrose.com/index_ee.php/forums/viewthread/3291/)

First, although the recipe works with some brands of frozen peaches, others don’t seem to work for the recipe as written- here I used Cascadian Farms organic sliced peaches, and they gave off way too much juice.  They give off more than fresh peaches, so they need to be macerated and have the juices reduced in order to work.

editing to say that the real issue here is that the peaches were pre-cut into larger pieces than the recipe called for, which meant that they weren’t cooked enough at the time I poured in the custard mixture.  The peaches need to be nearly done when you pour in the custard, because otherwise the custard sets before the peaches give off their juices and the juices don’t blend with the custard and thicken properly.

Second, the peach juices and the custard mixture are supposed to mix together, so if they don’t appear to be mixing when the custard is poured on, then push the peach slices around a bit until they do.  This will also help the peaches show in the surface of the tart, which is nice.

——

Also from “Loves Genoise” (ahem) on Cookbooker: (http://www.cookbooker.com/recipe/15668/peaches-and-cream-tart)

“The key is to be sure to bake the peaches long enough that they have exuded all their juice before adding the custard mixture. If they are still firm, they haven’t baked long enough. They should be almost fully baked. If you add the custard too soon, the tart will have a lot of extra juices that flow out when sliced

I bake this pie to an internal temp of 160F to ensure that the custard is properly thickened.”