Secretary's effort to produce cake (6)
I believe the answer is:
pastry
'cake' is the definition.
(I've seen this before)
'secretary's effort' is the wordplay.
'secretary's' becomes 'PA's' (abbreviation for personal assistant).
'effort' becomes 'try' (synonyms).
'pas'+'try'='PASTRY'
'to produce' is the link.
(Other definitions for pastry that I've seen before include "Sweet baked dough" , "What makes crust" , "Dough of flour, water and shortening" , "Crust of pies, tarts etc." , "Pie base" .)