Some basic ingredients for sugary preparation (5)
I believe the answer is:
icing
'sugary preparation' is the definition.
The answer and definition can be both acts as well as being singular nouns.
Maybe there's a link between them I don't understand?
'some basic ingredients for' is the wordplay.
'some' indicates the answer is hidden within the clue (some parts of the word are used).
'ICING' is hidden within 'basic ingredients for'.
Can you help me to learn more?
(Other definitions for icing that I've seen before include "Top cake layer" , "Frosty coating" , "Deposit" , "The sweetest part of the cake" , "Topcoat" .)