Mark came through for me, as always.
The candles/flower probably opened out, possibly rotated, and played a delightfully "tinny" version of something you'd recognize...but usually not "Happy Birthday."
This is a typical style of cake for China. When we told our students the first year that we have ovens at our home and make birthday cakes...this is what they imagined. I was glad I didn't have any photos of my sheet cakes frosted with canned icing and decorated with M&Ms.
(Hey, sometimes I make great cakes, too. Just not every birthday.)
