Hundreds of customers who preordered a Christmas cake online from major department store chain Takashimaya were heavily disappointed on Christmas Day when they discovered that their cakes had been damaged.

The pricey ¥5,400 cakes were meant to be delivered frozen, but many arrived melted, lopsided or crumbled. Out of the 2,879 cakes sold, Takashimaya has received 1,207 complaints as of Tuesday from disgruntled customers, of which 807 cases of damage was confirmed.

On Wednesday, Takashimaya issued an apology, saying it took full responsibility for the incidents.

“Christmas cake is something that people enjoy with family and friends on a special occasion that only comes once a year,” said Kazuhisa Yokoyama, the head of sales at Takashimaya. “We are incredibly sorry that we were unable to create an atmosphere where everyone could enjoy (the cake) together and that we disappointed many.”

While Takashimaya conducted a review of the cake's supply chain — getting reports from Win’s Ark, the company that made the cakes, and Yamato Transport which delivered the product — it was unable to identify what specifically caused the widespread damage to the cakes.

Yokoyama said it would be near impossible to identify the exact reason since it won’t be able to re-create the same environment in which the cakes were made and delivered.

The cakes were made under the supervision of a French restaurant in Yokohama. When the same Christmas cakes were sold and delivered from Takashimaya last year, there were no reports of significant damage.

A noticeable difference from last year is the delay in strawberry imports this year, which resulted in the cakes only being frozen for 20 to 25 hours, instead of two weeks. But pre-testing showed that the shortened hours wouldn't make a difference and is unlikely to be the cause, Takashimaya said.

The department store chain is offering refunds or an alternative cake for affected customers.

“Given this incident, going forward, we will be more thorough in our discussions with various companies in our supply chain and enforce a system where we check to make sure that the products are being managed appropriately,” Yokoyama said.

News about the damaged cakes spread online, with social media users posting pictures of the deformed dessert. Some said that it reminded them of a similar incident in 2011 when Takashimaya was criticized for their osechi — a Japanese New Year’s culinary tradition — being poorly made and underwhelming.