I think partial application and pipe operators make this so very intuitive though:

[butter, sugar, walnuts] |> mix() |> splitIntoPans(pans = 3) |> bake(time = 30, temp = 175) |> cool(time = 5)

We can improve the syntax further

    [butter, sugar, walnuts]
    mix()
    splitIntoPans(pans = 3)
    bake(time = 30, temp = 175)
    cool(time = 5)

Hmm, wait a second.....

    [butter, sugar, walnuts]
    ^^^
     Somewhere wanted type CakeIngredients but missing record field "Flour"

If imperative style programming came with type inference on the level of the Ocaml compiler sign me up. For now, though, I can spare a few cycles in exchange for correct programs.

Careful, somewhere along that line you might even come to a conclusion that Haskell is world's most advanced imperative language, with the reprogrammable semicolons and whatnot.

Or, to coin a phrase: https://apps.dtic.mil/dtic/tr/fulltext/u2/a030751.pdf

But this doesn't handle the state. It is not working imperativ code.