A widely circulated photo of one of the damaged cakes was also posted on X, formerly Twitter
A luxury Japanese supermarket has apologized for handing out hundreds of strawberry-flavored crumble Christmas cakes.
Some 807 of the 2,900 strawberry cakes delivered in the run-up to Christmas were damaged on arrival, sparking a backlash on social media.
Takashimaya, the Japanese equivalent of Harrods, said it had “betrayed the expectations of many” and took responsibility.
Senior managing director Kazuhisa Yokoyama bowed deeply at a news conference in Tokyo to show remorse.
The cakes were made and frozen by confectionery company Win's Ark in Saitama City, Takashimaya said on Wednesday. A separate company, Yamato Transport, handled the delivery.
However, an internal investigation failed to determine why the cakes were in various stages of collapse.
Christians make up only about 1 percent of Japan's population, but many in the country celebrate Christmas by exchanging gifts and sharing holiday meals with loved ones.
The colors red and white, as in the strawberry shortcake, represent celebration. Aside from cakes, the Japanese also serve Kentucky Fried Chicken on Christmas Eve.
Takashimaya's strawberry shortcake has layers of chiffon and fresh strawberries, topped with white icing that has been carefully designed to resemble the frilly hem of a dress. Each cake costs 5,400 yen ($38; £29).
But many cakes were sent to customers in less than picture-perfect condition.
Pictures shared on social media showed slices of strawberries sliding out of the melting ice and torn layers of chiffon.
One X Twitter user previously said the cake arrived in a collapsed state, and they then tried to camouflage it with fruit and chocolate sprinkles. The post has so far received 16.1 million views.
Referring to the re-decorated cake, one X user said: “It's the foundation of free creativity.” Another user said: “The idea of decorating it is great. You have your best intelligence to get rid of it and enjoy it.”
Takashimaya apologized on Christmas Day and again on Wednesday.
“In the future, we will strengthen our relationship with our business partners to improve our management system and prevent this from happening again,” Yokoyama said.
“Devoted student. Bacon advocate. Beer scholar. Troublemaker. Falls down a lot. Typical coffee enthusiast.”