Fathers attempt to make dough ... (6)
I believe the answer is:
pastry
'dough' is the definition.
(I know that pastry is a type of dough)
'father's attempt to' is the wordplay.
'father's' becomes 'pa's' (pa can mean dad or father).
'attempt to' becomes 'try' (I've seen this in other clues).
'pas'+'try'='PASTRY'
'make' acts as a link.
(Other definitions for pastry that I've seen before include "'It may be puff, shortcrust and flakey (6)'" , "Choux --; puff --" , "Cake - tart" , "Dough base" , "Piecrust; small cake" .)