You may be right, Pandora. If "half-baked" means to anagram "half" and "with unknowns" means to add "Ys" as in the plural of "Y" which is an unknown in a math equation, you have the letters for "flashy". Not sure if it equates to outstanding, but it's better than anything I've come up with - which is nothing.

I took it as if something is flashy it stands out, hence outstanding. Is it a true synonym of flashy? No, buts it’s clever.

Agreed. In the Garden of Puzzling Delights I think clever should always reign supreme.

Great solve, Sue, and apologies for pitching such a teaser and getting you and Jimbo confused with the hints: using outstanding to mean standing out was perhaps a twist too far, although apparently grammatically correct, if unusual.

Unknown + s = y + s, and I think that is a permissible trick.

I would like to think it was almost worthy of Denis, and I will happily take Cheryl's comment as I do not often feel all that clever these days...!

Here is the well-earned Belt ===[***CDM***]===

Thank you, Lex. You are ever clever.

A supply of pastry put up in layers (6)