Extol father's attempt to make flaky piecrust (4,6)
I believe the answer is:
puff pastry
'make flaky piecrust' is the definition.
The definition suggests a singular noun which matches the answer.
'extol father's attempt' is the wordplay.
'extol' becomes 'puff' (I am not sure about this - if you are sure you should give a lot more credence to this answer).
'father's' becomes 'pa's' (pa can mean dad or father).
'attempt' becomes 'try' (synonyms).
'puff'+'pas'+'try'='PUFF PASTRY'
'to' is the link.
Can you help me to learn more?
(Other definitions for puff pastry that I've seen before include "It's used for vol-au-vents" , "Lightweight food" .)