To be honest i have been thinking that after you craft a cake you should have to bake/smelt it in a furnace in order to eat it, you could probably place unbaked cake but it would only replenish half a hunger. Also for cookies... you could probably have to shove them in a furnace too like cake, but with cookies you can't eat unbaked ones. Unbaked/smelted bread would only replenish half a hunger.
I have wondered about this too... but I can see why no one would want to go through the effort of multiple crafting steps. What I'd really like (cake related) is a recipe for chocolate cake, using cocoa beans.
It kinda feels odd to me that you don't bake those. I did make a bakery in my village and it looks right but doesn't feel legit. I dunno. gameplay vs realism has always been a thing.
Just a Suggestion, Nothing too Much
Having to actually cook a cake would be a logical update but it would be entirely unnecessary.