I say, abandon the afters (7)
I believe the answer is:
dessert
'afters' is the definition.
(I've seen this before)
I cannot understand how the remainder of the clue works.
Can you help me to learn more?
(Other definitions for dessert that I've seen before include "Sweet, afters" , "Fruit and nuts, perhaps" , "End of meal" , "Pudding, sweet" , "Christmas pudding maybe" .)