Photography by Victoria Gomez
To the outside eye, Bunmi (pronounced boom-me) Lawal’s life looked a lot different a few years ago. Before moving to Dallas in 2017, Lawal was a pharmacist in Chicago, spending her days ensuring patients have the correct medicine and that each has the right temperature, humidity and light level.
It’s chemistry.
Now, she’s doing chemistry of a different kind.
In 2021, as many origin stories now begin, the COVID-19 pandemic kept Lawal at home, and that desire for chemistry mixed with an urge for creativity brought her to a childhood hobby.
“I was always passionate about food and making desserts,” Lawal says. “In high school, I was the girl that always brought brownies for everyone.”
Lawal’s first daughter was born in 2020. Between being a new mom and having to stay home, she was due for a hobby. And baking cakes was it.
“My dream has only been able to grow because of my kids,” she says. “I want other people to know that your dreams don’t die because you have kids in your life. My life literally just got started three years ago.”
In February 2021, her friends were having an event, and Lawal seized the opportunity to test out her skills.
“The cake was so ugly,” Lawal says. “It was not cute at all, but the girls were like, ‘This cake tastes amazing.’”
From February to June, she dug in and practiced making cakes and “just didn’t stop.”
“I’m not classically trained,” she says. “I literally went to YouTube University. And I haven’t graduated yet.”
To Lawal, a pretty cake isn’t good enough. And a good-tasting one isn’t either.
“My biggest thing is prioritizing flavor, making textures right so it’s a full overall experience,” she says.
Once Lawal was confident in her cakes, she launched Sweet Boom Bakery.
“With cakes, it’s a chemistry and it’s a science,” Lawal says. “You need to ratio how much baking powder or baking soda. It’s literally chemistry experiments every single time and that’s why I really like it and enjoy it.”
Though Lawal is still a pharmacist, her current job keeps her working from home, leaving more time to hang out with her two small children and bake cakes — which her kids are definitely not opposed to, she says.
“I really love being able to do a little bit of both where I’m a pharmacist but I’m also a mom, I’m also a wife, I’m also a baker,” Lawal says. “Just being able to wear many hats as a mom has been one of my biggest honors.”
Lawal’s cakes start at $50 and go up to $488+ depending on how many tiers and how many the customer is aiming to feed. Customizations for fruit, flowers and fillings are available at an additional cost. Cupcakes start at $36 per dozen.
Can’t decide on a flavor? Her favorites are chocolate ganache and lemon cake with raspberry filling.
“It’s like medicine but it’s medicine for the soul,” she says.
